Jocks, Culties & Us Outcasts!
by Seria on Twelve Notes
Summary: HIGHSCHOOL FIC! After getting kicked out of her house by her dad, 17-year old Aqua transferred to her cousin's school in Destiny High..Chaos ensued as she befriends the not-so-popular crowd & goes against the dark side! joking :p . FULL SUMMARY INSIDE!
1. Chapter 1

Ya-haw! Been awhile everybody! (well to those in the FF13 & Persona series anyways!) It's been a reallllllly looooooong time since I've updated my other stories cuz well, _life _caught up to me. moving out, going to classes and all the other jazz. Nyway I'm trying my hand in the Kingdom Hearts fanfic now! (Don't kill me o' reader of my FF13 story, i'm only on hiatus for the fic for awhile! Promise!) Well I dunno how well you guys (meaning readers0 are gonna receive this cuz I'm making Aqua (Heroine of KH:BBS) as the main character of my fic! W-ell we'll see how well this story goes hrm? If there are sum positive reviews then I'll be stoked to continue otherwise...well we'll jes see huhu. Nyway R&R plz! Enjoy! Ya-haw!

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HIGHSCHOOL FIC! After getting kicked out of her house by her dad, 17-year old Aqua transferred to her cousin's school in Destiny High, hoping to make a fresh start. But everything's not peachy perfect as her new school is not what it seems to be. A battle between students and boundaries of classes separated the students into 3 factions. So what happens when Aqua somehow picked the worst side she could be on? Befriending a red-haired troublemaker, a super-elite soldier-trained girl, a bullied freshman, a spooky drawing-loving dormmate, a Ninja-wannabe cousin, a talented guitarist and many more to come! This story actually aims for self-confidence and all those mushy stuffs. Hilarity, chaos, romance and exams awaits our nerdy-going-to-be-beautiful-just-like-ugly-duckling-to-a-swan heroine!

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CHAPTER I: Jocks, Culties & Outcasts

The wind blew past her face and scattered strands of hair in front of her eyes as the young girl walked out of the bus. Adjusting her blue hair slowly, she picked up her luggage bags and dragged them to the side of the road. It had been a long trip to get here and she needed to know that she was at the right place. She quickly unzipped her sleeveless jacket and adjusted her jeans, smoothing out the crease lines. Noticing a signpost, she quickly made her way towards it.

Pop music was blaring in her ears as she turned the volume of her IPod louder, just to distract herself from everything else. The blue-haired girl looked up at the signpost and read;

_Destiny Island_

_Yup, I'm at the right place alright, _she thought absentmindedly and scanned her surroundings. She was on the outskirts of town from the looks of it as she could see buildings ahead of her and smelled a faint scent of the sea in the air. Right beside her is some sort of field and she could see a few people farming around the area. _Wow, never seen farmers before though..._ She thought interestedly and adjusted her glasses to see better.

Checking her watch, it was already evening and she could see the sky darkening. Sighing, she pulled out a map from her jeans pocket and frowned. _Lesse' now, where the heck am I... _From what her cousin had mentioned, there was _supposedly _some sort of dormitory around the town's beach area. Her frown became more prominent as she couldn't find the said dormitory on the map.

_Please don't let this be another one of Yuffie's pranks..._ Sighing again, she decided to check the beach anyways, hoping that the dormitory would be real. Dragging her heavy luggage bags, she watched the town apprehensively and inhaled, "This is where you're gonna' be staying now Aqua..." She took out what looked like an aquamarine brooch from her pocket and clenched it tightly in her free hand, walking into the town

* * *

"This-Can-NOT-Be-Happening!" Aqua stared upwards in disbelief. Having spent an hour to find the beach, she had not expected to find the dormitory to be all the way up on a hill. "Near the beach my foot!" _Technically it is near the beach but Yuffie didn't mention that I need to climb a mountain to get there!_ There was a road that curved like a snake all the way up to the dorm but Aqua knew the road would _definitely _ruin her sneakers.

Aqua grimaced slightly as she lets go of her bags. She sat on a bench and massaged her sore arm. She had been dragging her bags with her right hand while looking at the map with her left hand. She could have asked any of the townspeople to help her out but she was too shy to do so.

"Now what am I supposed to do..." Aqua sighed. She couldn't possibly take all her luggage up the hill and the sky was already getting dark. "Maybe I should call Yuffie and stay at her place for the night..." Aqua quickly denied that idea. She really adored her cousin, almost like a sister to her, but Aqua had already set her mind to not depend or burden anybody. _Not since dad kicked me out of the house..._

Again, she forcefully denied that thought to linger. Trying to think positive, Aqua lightly slaps her own face and stood up. "Alright! Time to put these muscles to good use!" She jokingly pumps her muscle and grabbed her bags.

A snort and a muffled laughter were heard and Aqua turned around in surprise. There was a person sitting on a bench next to hers and she had not noticed it until she heard the sound he, _or she_, makes. Aqua could tell that it was actually a _he_, from the looks of it. The stranger was wearing a jacket with his hoodie hiding his face. A single cigarette stick was sticking out of it and he was playing with his lighter, flicking it open and then closing it a few times. His other hand tucked in his jean's pocket.

Aqua stared at him for a while before deciding that it was probably not a good idea to approach that man, let alone ask for his assistance. She quickly turned around and pulled on her luggage bags when she suddenly felt dizzy and lost her footing. Aqua dropped to the ground as her vision was blurring and spinning around.

_Migraine..._Aqua grimaced as she massaged her forehead meekly. She had forgotten the fact that during the long bus ride she had not eaten anything since last night, skipping breakfast and lunch altogether. Her stomach growled and she pushed her hand against it. Again, the stranger snorted and snickered. Aqua blushed in embarrassment as she tried to stop her tummy from making any more noise. _Geez, hush you! When we get to the dorm I'll fill you with lots of delicious treats now hush up! _However, her stomach continued growling and she heaved a sigh of defeat.

"Here." A voice suddenly said, making Aqua jump. Her heart did a double-take when she turned to saw the smoking man holding out a bar of 'Snickies' at her. Slightly scared of the man, Aqua watched him nervously without doing anything. She knew better than to take treats from a stranger.

"Don't worry it's not _poisoned_." The man rolled his eyes and shoved the chocolate bar into her hand. Seeing him up close, Aqua realized that he was not that old. _Probably around my age..._She thought as she unwrapped the sweet and took a bite out of it. Instantaneously she regained her strength back and made a cartwheel jump to stand up.

The hooded boy whistled in amazement and clapped his hands in mock applause. "Thank you, thank you." Aqua humoured him and pretended to bow lowly. _Now back to business..._ Aqua grabbed hold of her bags and pulled them with all her might. The rollers under the bags squeaked but hardly moved an inch.

_Just great... _"Move, you!" Aqua demanded pointlessly as the bags didn't even budge. _Why do I have to bring all my junk from home? Sure, clothes were OK but toasters and oven? Living in a cave much? _

"Need a hand?" The boy was squatting on the ground, his acid green eyes watching her with interest. Aqua realized she had not yet thanked the boy for the chocolate. Biting her lips nervously, she was contemplating on how to actually thank him. _Should I say it casually? Just "Thanks for the meal!"? That sounds a bit weird...Maybe just "Thanks" would suffice? No no, the chocolate did help me a lot, how about "Your chocolate saved my life!"...That's weird..._

"Yo! You still with me?" He snapped his fingers in front of her eyes, snapping Aqua out of her daydream. "H-Huh?" Aqua blinked. The boy sighed and stood up. _W-Wow he's tall! _She observed him for a while. He was tall and lanky, not really slim, average she could guess. Aqua watched him as he moved closer and grabbed the bags from her hand.

"H-Hey!" Aqua made to protest. She didn't want to burden, let alone _depend_, on a totally unknown guy. However he had already grabbed all of her stuffs and was walking towards the hills. "You were going up there right?" He turned around for confirmation.

Aqua nodded silently and he smirked. "Great, let's get a move on then!" However, instead of taking the uphill road, the boy made a left turn from the beach. Aqua jogged to keep up with his speed. _Boy is he fast. _"U-Um, where are we going?" She was totally clueless as to where they were headed. As far as she was concerned, the dormitory was the other way around.

"Huh?" The boy wheeled his head back to see her. "Oh, we're taking the _stairs _up. That road's only for cars and such y'know? You gotta be crazy if you wanna walk up a slide right?" No sooner had he said that they reached a set of stairs going up the hill. Aqua could tell that the stairs go directly to the dorm.

_Wow now I feel stupid..._ She mentally kicked herself for not realizing that the upward road was not the only way to get to the dorm. _I mean, how else would the other girls living there go back right? _

The boy had carried all her luggage in both his arms and had ascended the flight of stairs. "What da' hell is in all these bags? _Granite stones_?" He was grimacing a bit from the weight.

"N-Not really, just my...whole room?" Aqua answered the last part a little unsurely and nervously. The boy cocked his eyebrows but merely said, "...Whatever."

The rest of the trip was filled with an uncomfortable silence. Aqua was following the boy closely. Unsure of what to say or what to do she didn't start any conversation with her helper. However after a while, she started humming her favourite song, _My Hands_, by Leona Lewis just to break the quietness of the surrounding.

"Hey I know that song." The boy said interestedly, turning to face Aqua. "_My Hands _right? Damn, I like that catchy tune of da' song." He said with a grin.

"This song is absolutely beautiful, and the way she sings it is really spectacular! The lyrics especially! They sound so right and I mean..." Aqua stopped talking right away and quickly looked the other way, blushing slightly. "I sound like a dork don't I?"

The boy continued to look at her with interest. "Not really, jes' unpredictable." He gave her a smirk and hummed the tune too. Glad to have broken the silence, Aqua hummed together with him, synchronizing with his humming splendidly. The harmony between their two voices matched so well that even the birds, which supposedly should've gone to bed by now, began chirping as if it was early in the morning.

"_~Hm~Hm~Hm~" _Aqua hummed peacefully until they reached the dormitory. Aqua scanned the building. It looked quiet old and none of windows on the second and third floor are lighted. _That's weird, maybe they all went to bed early or something?_

"Well, here we are, the Haunted Dorm!" The boy dropped the bags and clapped Aqua's shoulder. "The _what_?" Aqua looked at him quizzically. _He did not just say..._ "Haunted Dorm." He repeated simply. "This place's been abandoned since forever, but I think da' owner's granddaughter still lives here or something...as a _ghost_." He made an 'oooo!' sound and wriggled his fingers as an added effect.

Aqua gulped involuntarily. She was not good with spectral beings, and whole lot of other things at that. "S-So you're saying that there's absolutely no one living here?"

"Absolutely _no one~_." He repeated with a smirk. The boy lit another cigarette and turned around, heading towards the stairs.

"W-Wait! You're leaving already?" Aqua looked at him, aghast. _Don't leave me here with the ghosts! _

"Course' I am, wouldn't want the ghouls to eat me now would I?" He gave her an evil grin.

"Y-You're mean! At least accompany me into the building or something!" Aqua looked at the old dormitory and then towards the boy.

He looked at her for awhile before shrugging, "Nope, no can do. You're on your own doll." He gave her a small wave. Aqua slumps her shoulders in defeat, but then the boy turned around and asked her, "Hey! Which school are ya' goin' to?"

"Destiny High..." Aqua muttered quietly. _What's that got to do with ghosts? _

"Really?" The boy looked at her with interest as Aqua merely grabbed all her bags drearily.

"Yeah...I'm enrolling tomorrow..." _If I can live that long anyway! Look at the dorm! It's practically screaming 'KILL YOU!" right in my face! _As she looked up again she was surprised to see the boy practically inches away from her, his face directly in front of hers. "W-What is it?" Aqua pushed his face away, blushing furiously.

He stared at her for awhile before shrugging, "Nothing. By the way, sup' with the goofy glasses?" he pointed what was on Aqua's face.

"T-They're not goofy!" Aqua consciously adjusted them. True, in this day and age, one can hardly go around wearing a pair of big, round spectacles with thick black frames without being laughed at, but Aqua had liked the glasses. It made her feel safe from the world.

"Whatever." He shrugged again and walked towards the stairs. Then, he turned around again, "BTW, the name's Axel. A-X-E-L, got it memorized?"

Aqua gave him a confused look. "Why'd you tell me that?" She really didn't get the young man. First he was laughing at her, and then he gave her food, then laughed again, then helped her with her stuffs, then laughed again, then teased her, then this...

"I dunno, maybe cuz' I got a gut feeling I'll see you again." Axel laughed a bit and ran down the stairs.

_What's that supposed to mean? _Aqua watched him leaves and turned her attention towards the dorm. She gulped and exhaled deeply. "OK...Let's do this!" She summoned up all her bravery to enter the old dormitory.

* * *

_Aqua_

_

* * *

_

"H-Hello?" Aqua squeaked as she peeked inside the dorm. Gripping a tennis racket which her cousin had given for her 13th birthday, she peered anxiously inside and scanned the area. _No ghosts here..._ She slowly entered the building, pulling her entire luggage at once.

Aqua was immediately brought into a hall room. The room was decorated in an old English-style where the room was painted a lavish brown colour, antique sofas, and a grand tea-table in the middle of the room. The only thing that did not match the surrounding was a huge, plasma screen TV set.

Aqua looked left and right anxiously, not a single soul was seen. She let out a sigh of relief but did not drop her guard. _Okay get a grip Aqua! There couldn't possibly be any-_

Suddenly, somebody coughed behind Aqua, making her shriek and jumped violently out of shock. "Please Please Mr. Ghost don't eat me! S-Spare me please!" Aqua kneeled on the floor, begging for her life.

However instead of a gruff and sinister voice, a small, soft voice was heard instead. "_What on earth are you talking about?" _

Aqua looked up, pulling a confused look on her face. It wasn't a ghost but a young girl sitting behind a counter. She has blonde hair and blue eyes (_just like me!) _She was wearing a white dress and was sitting on a chair with her legs close to her chest. She wasn't looking at Aqua, rather she was quite fixated with her sketchbook, drawing something with a dull and uninteresting expression, as if she had been doing it for hours without stopping.

Aqua watched her for awhile, not wanting to disturb her concentration. The only sound that could be heard in the hall was of the girl's pencil scratching on the sketchbook furiously. A while past and the girl finally sighed and put down her sketchbook.

Aqua flinches a bit as her eyes met the girl's. Her eyes were dreary and Aqua shuddered a bit at the thought; _lifeless._ She looked sickly and her pale skin seemed to emit a grey aura than surrounds her, making her looked all the more like a ghost. She beckoned for Aqua to come closer to the counter.

Aqua stepped forward hesitantly, her eye contact with the girl did not break. She coughed slightly and held out a form towards Aqua.

"...You must be the new tenant of this dormitory right...?" She asked in a low voice. Again she held out her hand to her mouth to cover her cough.

_Maybe she's a sickly girl...Poor thing..._ Aqua thought sympathetically.

"Well...Are you...?" She asked again in a soft voice, her expression did not change. Aqua nodded and the girl took out a pen from a drawer. "Then I need you to sigh this form please...It's sort of like a terms and agreement contract..." She closed her eyes sleepily as Aqua took the pen.

She skimmed through the contract paper. _Keep the dorm clean...okay...Always check the door is locked after midnight...still fine...Do the chores and clean the bathroom?...Eww... _After finished reading the contract she finally signed the paper and looked up to the blonde girl. However, she wasn't in her seat.

"H-Huh?" _D-Don't tell me she's a real ghost! _Aqua checked behind the counter quickly.

"Let's show you your room now..." A voice sounded directly behind her.

"E-Ep!" Aqua squeaked involuntarily and turned to see the girl was standing behind her. "D-Don't do that!" Aqua frowned at her.

The girl looked at Aqua, puzzled. "Do _what?_" She tilted her head slightly.

_Aww, she looks sooo cute! _Aqua gave an 'aww' look at the girl. True, she was spooky and Aqua had her reservations of her being a spirit but she couldn't help but to notice how cute the girl looks. "You-are-so-ADORABLE!" Aqua hugged the girl tightly and ruffled her hair furiously.

The girl looked perplexed but she did not push Aqua away, only because she didn't know what to do. "U-U-Um Miss..." She tried to get Aqua's attention but Aqua was busy checking the girls' face.

"You're like a living doll! Your skin is so smooth and your cheeks! Ooh, so squishy!" Aqua squashed the girl's face and rubbed her cheeks around.

"M-Mishhh..." The girl tried to get Aqua's attention again but Aqua was preoccupied with her squishing. Finally Aqua stopped and let out a sigh of satisfaction.

"You have very soft skin, you're like a cuddly jelly bear!" Aqua's eyes twinkled as she imagined her in a teddy bear suit. "Oh I forgot to ask! What's your name?" She beamed at the blonde girl.

She stayed quiet for a moment as she massaged her red cheeks. Then, "...Naminé..."

"Naminé." Aqua repeated happily. "So do you go to Destiny High too?" Aqua looked at her expectantly.

Still massaging her cheeks, Naminé nodded and gave Aqua a confused look. "...You are very weird Miss..."

"Aqua." Aqua gave her name and hugged Naminé again. "I just can't let go of you! ~"

* * *

_Aqua_

* * *

My room was much neater and nicer than I had imagined. There was a clean bed, a desk and chair for me to do my studies, and a cupboard to put my clothes in.

I wasn't really feeling up to unpacking my stuffs so I just threw my bags at the corner of the room and jumped onto the bed. I stared at the ceiling for a while, wondering if Naminé had gone back to sit behind the counter in the hall. (She had wanted to get to know Naminé more, to which the girl had shaken her head vigorously and ran away as soon as she showed Aqua's room.)

"Tomorrow's the first day of school huh? _My _first day at school that is..." I mumbled to myself. The first semester had started about a week ago. I hope Yuffie keeps her promise to meet me tomorrow...

Unconsciously I took out my brooch and held it over the light. The aquamarine gem sparkled. I always enjoyed watching it shine, it kinda reminded me of a shiny star. But the downside is _his _face will pop out whenever I see this brooch.

"...No use thinking about _him_ now..." I frowned at the brooch and tossed it aside.

The brooch had represented some of my happiest memories and also my worst. I wanted to forget what he did to me but somehow I just couldn't bring myself to throw it away. _Not this brooch...or my memories with him..._

"Maybe I should get some rest...It's been a long day..." I couldn't help but yawn. It's really been awhile since I got a decent bed to sleep on. I fluffed my pillow and before I know it, I was already sleeping.

* * *

_Aqua_

_

* * *

_

Destiny High was a couple of blocks away from the beach from what the map had shown but somehow I still managed to get lost! I had to go around the neighbourhood a few times before a kindly old man showed me the right way. I ran as fast as I can and barely beaten the arrival bell (yay!). I noticed some of the other kids staring at me and then they walked away, sniggering.

_No doubt laughing about my outfit..._ I was wearing the school uniform; a white shirt with a black vest and necktie, and also a black skirt (which I find a bit uncomfortable cuz' it's a bit too short to my liking!). The problem is that my uniform is a little too _big _for my size.

It was a stupid mistake I made cuz' I trusted _Yuffie _to buy me my uniform. I was horrified when she had bought a size 'L' (Large!) I mean, what am I? _An elephant_?

I guess it doesn't help much that I'm wearing my, what Axel had named them, 'goofy' glasses and a fisherman's hat to cover my hair. I had a very horrible memory from my last school when the kids made fun of my hair colour. _Not that I bleached it or anything, I'm born natural! _

I pulled on my hat and looked around for the Principal's office. It took awhile but I finally found it (after getting lost again) with the help of the school janitor.

All I know about my new principal is that his name is Ansem. He was some kind of a genius professor from some university with his theories of 'The Heart' and its many uniqueness. From what I heard (meaning Yuffie), he had stopped his research altogether after finding a flaw in it and settled down to become a teacher to teenagers instead.

I knocked on his door a few times before I heard a deep voice, "Enter." I opened the door slowly and saw Mr. Ansem sitting behind his desk, looking quite busy with his paperwork. He was an elderly man with blonde hair and clean facial hair. He was wearing a long red scarf and a white robe (I guess it's from his time back when he was a professor).

Actually he looked pretty strict, what with his stern face and the imperious aura he's giving off. I was surprised when he looked at me and gave me a smile. Like, his frown line totally disappeared!

"Ahh, you must be Aqua, sit down sit down..." His voice was a lot less gruff then before as he pointed to a chair in front of his desk.

I pulled up the chair and he coughed as he prepared to give me a speech. He explained about the school, what year it was established, their objectives, their expectations of the students, their examinations date...Okay it's getting a little bit too boring, even for me...

He handed me my class assignment – 2F. He gave me a fatherly smile as I thanked him, leaving his office.

I checked my timetable and...First lesson's History. I hurried to my classroom as class had already begun.

* * *

_Axel_

_

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_

"Can you guys be quiet for one sec! I'm trying to give an announcement here!" Kairi shouted exasperatedly over the noisy classroom.

_Fat lot of help that'll do..._ I snorted.

The whole class is being an ass as usual too, it's no wonder the teach's gave up _teaching_. I didn't really feel like getting involve with their riot since it's way early in the morning (save my bad-ass behaviour for the final bell). I just played with my lighter, flicking it around and watched the flames dance.

"You're gonna get _caught _one of these days y'know?"

I turned and groaned. _Tifa._

"What's it to ya' if my ass got burned huh?" I'm seriously not in the mood to hear some goddamned lecture in the morning too.

"_That_" She pointed at my lighter "can get you in trouble with Headmaster Ansem. Seriously why don't you think before doing something? Be more like Te-"

"You want to be big, burly bullies like _him _and the crowd you hang with?" I snorted. "No thanks, now _please _go away. You're bothering me."

Tifa made a hurt expression but it was quickly replaced with a frown. "I'm only looking out for you y'know..."

"Ain't your beeswacks to go buttin' in my life, so you do your thing with your posse' and I'll do mine. _Comprende_?" I was really getting annoyed by her complaining on how to live my life. Every day is the same shit; Clean your ass and be more like Mr. Popular Big-Ass Terra.

Tifa looked really angry when I said that. "H-How can you say that! Axel! We've been friends since kindergarten, of course I'm gonna be _buttin' in your life_!" She put her hands on her hips. _Oh boy, here we go with the 'We're-childhood-friends-so-I-care-about-you' shit._

Truth be told I don't hate Tifa or anything, it's just the _idiots _she hang out with. We were doing fine up till' middle school when she suddenly got her calling to join the jerk squad, the '_Jocks'_. The biggest clan around, they practically run everything and rule this stupid shithole we call a school.

"-Hey Axel are you listening to me?" Tifa's words snapped me back to the present. I blinked a few times before shrugging.

"Whatever..." I looked out the window and continued flicking my lighter. I knew Tifa must've been hurt because she didn't start nagging again and left me alone. _No doubt going into the toilet to weep or sumthin'...tch..._

Crappy start for the day, I knew I should've checked my horoscope today...not that I believe in that crap anyways...

"What the hell am I even doing in school anyways?" I slapped my face to cover my eyes. To any teenagers that are normal like me, going to school wasn't one of my favourite hobbies_._ I usually just cut school and have either Zexion or Kairi to give an excuse to the teachers (Kairi didn't approve of the idea but she also didn't want to see me get my ass kicked outta' school). Zexion has been the biggest help, usually giving the teachers a fake medical note issued from his dad's hospital.

"...This place sucks...Wonder if there's anything to make it more exciting..." I burned a bit of my table hummed a tune randomly. _Waitaminute..._ I continued humming the tune, somehow it was really familiar. Where the hell had I heard it? Pretty recently too...

Before I could even muse over that piece of memory the History teacher, Sazh Katzroy, entered the classroom. He wasn't affected by the war that's ongoing in the classroom. Guess he's used to it.

"Alright, alright siddown' now the lot of ya'! We got a new transfer student joining us today so I want you all to be in your best behaviours got it? That means no _blitzballing _in the class! Tidus!" Sazh pulled out his customized paintball gun (is it even legal to bring it to school?) and shot at the blitzball Tidus was throwing in the air.

The ball rolled away as Tidus yelled "_What the hell?" _and Sazh gave him a detention for that.

"Anyone else?" The history teacher looked around the class. All of them had gone strangely silent, mostly out of fear of being shot by the gun and not by getting detentions.

"That's better. Oh Axel, I just noticed you there. Feelin' better son?" Sazh gave a thumb up to me and smiled.

"A-Okay now sir, appreciate the concern." I grinned back at him. Sazh was cool. He wasn't like any of the other pain in the ass teachers and he was quite laid back about a lot of things. He knew how I roll in class and in return I show him a certain degree of respect, with sincerity. _At least he doesn't call the rest of us 'Outcasts' losers..._

Kairi raised her hand up to get Sazh's attention. "Mr. Katzroy I thought you said we have a new classmate coming here?"

Sazh nodded and called out to _whoever's _outside the door.

The door slides open and whoever, or _whatever_, had made her way into the classroom. I merely gape at the girl.

"Whoa, _sup' with her_?" The kid sitting behind Kairi (what's-his-name Hayner?) pointed at the new kid.

I kinda get why he was surprised and all. The transfer student was odd in every way. If it weren't for the skirt I wouldn't have known she was a _chick_.

_Overlarge school uniform...weird hat...goofy glasses... _I yawned and turned away disinterestedly. The new kid sure is weird alright...sup' with the goofy glasses...waitaminute, _goofy glasses_? My neck turned 180 degrees back to the new girl.

Holy crap it's her! I couldn't help but stare at her with my eyes wide open. The chick from yesterday!

She was fidgeting away in front of the class. Prolly' nervous or sumthin'.

"H-Hello...?" She said nervously. No one said anything. Damn snobs...just say 'hi' back! What're you guys' problem anyways? They were just staring at her, transfixed.

The new girl took another brave attempt. "E-Erm my name's A-Aqua. I transferred her from Departure High." This time around, the class reacted towards her words.

I let out a whistle. Everyone knows the crowd at Departure High. The place's supposed to be where all the _elites _hang out. You gotta be a somebody or knows a _somebody _to get in that place.

Somehow the new kid didn't fit the picture. _Prolly' why she transferred here in the first place..._

"I-I hope we can all be friends...?" She added the last part a little too unsurely, because the kids are now staring at her, some with a frown on their face.

I smirked at the girl. Guess she's the innocent, naive type...different from all these suckers anyways.

I clapped my hands a few times. "Good speech there kid! Nice meeting ya'." I wanted it to be welcoming, but I'm guessing it came out a bit sarcastic. I gave her an encouraging smile and continued clapping. Then some of the others began clapping too, and the class broke into their normal chaos again.

Sazh motioned for the new girl to find an empty seat.

"Oh Oh! Over here, over here!" I waved enthusiastically, pointing at a seat beside me. Nobody else wanted to seat with 'Bad Boy' Axel, so the seat's been vacant for some time.

She made her way towards me, passing the other kids. Some were sniggering at her but I gave them a death glare to shut up. _Idiots._

The girl sat down beside me, adjusting her hat unsurely and gave me an anxious smile. I couldn't help but grin at the innocent girl. _Man is this gonna be fun or what?_

* * *

_Aqua_

_

* * *

_

Oookkkaaayyy the whole class thinks I'm weird! They were all staring at me like I'm some kind of bug...which I wished that I was right now so I could be squashed and get it over with.

I'm glad _he _helped me though. I stared at my new desk partner. He was still grinning at me and watching me. It was making me nervous though, is it my glasses?

"Sup' new girl?" He was still grinning at me. I studied him for a bit; He had really long and spiky red hair, acid green eyes and tattoos of an upside down teardrops underneath both his eyes. He was kinda familiar actually now that I think about it...

"So you survived the haunted dorm huh? Glad to see you made it to school." He whistled.

"H-Huh?" I thought for awhile on what he just said. Now who'd said that to me yesterday? Then it clicked. "You're the guy that helped me with my stuffs yesterday! The chocolate guy!" I said happily.

He nodded energetically. "Hey I have a name remember? _Axel_."

"I remembered." I found my anxiety vanished tight on that spot thanks to him. He sounds like a wise-crack but I kinda get the feeling that he's a nice guy.

"Ya' don't have to mind what these guys think bout' ya', you'll get used to the _murmurs _after awhile." He made a dramatic wave with his hand and rolled his eyes.

However my heart sank when he said that. "It won't stop?" I practically squeaked. Am I going to be the subject of everybody's joke for the rest of my high school year?

"You kidding me? No way~!" Axel said laughingly. _That _did not comfort me in any way at all. I stared at the whiteboard glumly, noticing the kids still talking about me.

After History was English, it was taught by Mr. Cid, a blonde-haired man that has a stick in his mouth (he had explained it was a cinnamon stick, for health reasons). Despite teaching English, he was NOT the type to speak with sophisticated words.

"Siddown you #$%& kids! Class is starting!" He yelled to us. The class seemed unperturbed by his foul language, Axel was even laughing as if he had told a joke.

"Right right, so we're learning how to write a freakin' goddamned essay today. Hell, I dunno why we even need to learn how to _write_. Those dumbasses from the higher-ups just wanna make our lives miserable don't they?" He cracked a smile. His language might be a bit...crude but at least he's nice.

Next was Maths. Axel had warned me beforehand not to mess with this teacher. His name is Saix. I immediately knew why after I had accidentally gotten the answer to a geometry problem wrong. He had made me stand in the classroom hallway wearing an "I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO SIMPLE MATHS" sign.

It was humiliating! But at least I earned a few sympathies from my classmates. They had experienced the same thing too. Weirdly enough Axel joined me in the hallway a minute later wearing an "I WILL NOT CALL MY TEACHER A DOUCHEBAG" sign.

I stifled a giggle while he goes around showing off his sign to the other students walking past us.

Then the bell rang, a sign to show that it's recess.

I arranged my stationery nicely as Axel was making his way towards me. It would be nice to have someone showing me how the cafeteria rules work (and show me _where _the cafeteria is exactly!) but just then an announcement was heard from the PA system_._

_"E-hem, would Mr. Axel from class 2-F kindly make his way to the Principal's office? Principal Ansem is waiting for you. I repeat..._"

"_What?_ What'd I do this time?" Axel swore loudly and gave me a disappointed look. "Sorry newbie, guess I can't show you around the cafes'."

"It's alright, I'll survive I guess." I gave him a confident smile. Surely the cafeteria wouldn't be that bad right?

Axel was still in a bit of a bad mood as he made his way out of the classroom. However he quickly wheeled around, giving me a sharp look. "Hey, whatever you do, don't get in one of the _Jocks _bad side kay'?"

The Jocks? Does he mean those guys that play sports? "What do you me-"

He cut me short. "Just _don't_, kay?"

I merely nodded my head. What did he mean by that?

* * *

_Aqua_

_

* * *

_

I soon found out what he had meant.

While walking towards the cafeteria I saw a bunch of kids circling around in front of the lockers. There were some shouts and then laughter. I couldn't resist going there so see what is happening (I mean, _COME ON_, who wouldn't?).

There was another group of kids crowding the locker. They seemed to be the main attraction of this little show.

"C'mon brat, jes' get in there already!" A blonde girl with antennae-like hair was laughing. She was pushing a small boy into an empty locker.

"C-C'mon Larxene, don't do this! This is the _hundredth _time this week!" The boy pleaded, pushing against the girl with his legs against the inside of the locker.

"Aww, I thought you're well acquainted with your lil' room here?" The blondie didn't show any mercy. A few of her friends went to her side and helped pushed the boy into the locker.

The boy gave a yelp as they locked him in, laughing.

"H-Hey, lemme' out!" He banged against the locker door.

None of them paid attention to his pleading. I can't believe it! They were even high-fiving each other! And why doesn't anyone say something? I gave the other kids a dirty look. I mean _helllooo_! Kid in trouble here, helping much?

"Hey! Let him out!" I looked at those kids crossly. The crowd immediately divided into two, leaving me in the middle of the attention. _Great, real big help guys_!

The bullies stared at me hard. I stood my ground and glared back, no way am I losing to you hoodlums! Then they burst out laughing.

"WooHooHoo! W-What are you s-supposed to be? The _Nerd Police_?" A guy wearing a black beanie laughed at me, banging his fist on the locker.

"C-Careful Sei', or she'll make you wear those stupid glasses!" His friend, a feminine-looking, silvery-haired guy with ponytail chuckled.

What's so _funny _with what I wear anyways? Sure it's not the latest trend or anything but it's not THAT weird.

The blonde-haired girl approached me with a cruel smile etched on her face, her two friends following suit. Now that I think about it, I'm kinda outnumbered in this situation.

"So wutcha' gonna do about it huh? Four-eyes?" She jabbed me with her finger roughly. "Don'tcha know who we are? We're with the _jocks _sweetum'."

I remembered Axel warning not to mess with these guys but... "Let him out of the locker now...or else..." I muttered under my breath.

"Or else _what_?" She openly challenged me.

"I'll tell Principal Ansem about this." I finished quietly.

The girl bursts out laughing when she heard me say the principal's name. "Hahaha, you think that using that old senile fart's name is gonna scare me?"

Before I knew it my body was slammed to the wall, hard. _Oww._

"Listen here four-eyes, you jes' made it into my black book, and people who's _in _my black book, like sweet lil' shrimp there, are gonna get hurt. Know what I mean?" She said with a cold smile and took out a pocketknife.

OMG _OMG_ she got a freaking knife! I felt my courage seeping out of me as she pointed the knife delicately in front of my chest.

"Wouldn't want those sweet bosoms to get scarred now do ya'?" She poked my chest lightly. I could feel the heat from the embarrassment rising to my face.

"What's going on _here_?"

Suddenly a voice rang behind the blondie's two minions. She winced and quickly let go me, chucking the knife back into her pocket.

"Larxene." A boy appeared behind her.

"_Terra_." She said his name in a false sweet voice.

The boy was taller than she was, towering over her with an air of authority. He had long, spiky brown hair and (I was mesmerized by this!) well-kept, muscled body. He was practically buff! I can feel the heat rising again, but this time not from embarrassment.

He eyed the scene quietly. His eyes shifted from Larxene, to the still banging locker, and finally me. My heart gave a quick jump as he flashed me a warm smile, but his smile quickly disappeared as he stared back at Larxene.

"What did I tell you about bullying freshmen?" His voice wasn't angry, but somehow it still made Larxene shifting on her feet uneasily.

"And you two" He pointed at the other two "get your butts into the club room. _Now_." His voice had such forceful command that they both muttered an 'okay' and disappeared.

"I'll have a word with you later Larxene." Terra crossed his arms while Larxene looked perplexed.

"_What, _you wanna preach to me to be buddy-buddy with the freshies now?" She jabbed me on the chest with her finger. "In case you've forgotten Terra, we've _both _been through the same shit that we're doing to _them_."

"Nevertheless I don't approve of it. _Let her go Larxene_." Terra's voice suddenly grew tense.

Larxene had grabbed me by the collar and pushed me onto the ground. Whoa she's like, strong! I couldn't break free from her grip. She was squeezing the oxygen out of me!

"Screw you and your ideals Terra! I've been through shit to earn this _badge_." She pointed to a pin on her left collar. I noticed it had the symbol of a yellow nymph on it as she's strangling me.

"I can do _whatever _I want with this fresh meat!" She raised her free hand up. I knew what was coming, a big fat slap print would be prominent on my face any moment now. I closed my eyes to endure the pain.

I didn't know what happened next. All I heard was Larxene shouting "_What the hell?_" and next thing I know I could breath easily again.

Air, sweet mother air! I inhaled deeply as I was on all four on the ground. When I opened my eyes the first thing I saw was a flash of pink jumping around the hallway. Larxene had taken out her pocketknife and seemed genuinely worried.

"Dammit, _Lightning!_" Larxene hissed and threw her knife straight at the ceiling.

My mouth had typically fallen to the floor by now. There was a girl hanging upside-down on the ceiling. _Spider-Girl? _I squinted my eyes to see better. Oh, she was just hanging on the ceiling light of the school..._Very big deal!_

Twirling in the air again, the Spider-Girl caught Larxene's knife in mid-air and landed beside me. _Wooooow._ I studied her appearance out of fascination. Strawberry-pink hair, slim figure and quite tall. Her school shirt and vest was practically hugging her skin, and her skirt was really, _really _short.

"No knives allowed _Larxene_." Spider-Girl spoke with an annoyed voice, as if the girl was wasting her time.

Larxene's face shifted from worry to anger. "Y-You bitch! Think you're all high mighty cuz' you stopped my knife?"

"That...and the fact that I beat you every time. It's been getting really annoying BTW." She answered with a bored tone.

Before Larxene could retort Terra had gotten in-between the two girls.

"_Enough_." He faced Larxene. For the first time he looked really scary, even Larxene seemed to have lost her will to fight. Terra continued to stare at Larxene, forcing her to leave the scene.

The blondie muttered curses under her breath as she stalks away, not before giving me a very dirty look.

I'm not afraid of you! Well, that's what I would've said but somehow I don't really want to provoke her any more. Spider-Girl has done enough of that.

The herculean boy then turned to face us. "I'm really sorry about Larxene, I'll make sure to talk to her later Lightning."

Lightning nods her head. "Just make sure she's not making anyone else her victim." She pointed at the locker behind him. It seemed like the boy had stopped asking for help.

"Ohmygosh I forgot about him!" I slapped my forehead and quickly approached the locker. "Hey! Are you alright?" I asked the silent locker.

"...Is somebody out there?" He asked meekly, his eyes peering through the gap of the air vent.

I flashed him a smile. "Don't worry I'll get you out. Hang on a sec..." I don't know how exactly am I gonna' get him out. Picking the locker's combination was out of the question...maybe I should pry it open... I looked around for something to help me crack this metal box open.

"I'll help." Terra suddenly appeared beside me. I looked at him sceptically. Well, he was one of _them_. The ones Axel had called The Jocks.

Should I trust him? Well he did help me out just now... before I could give a reply a familiar voice crept into the scene.

"Uhh, I don't think so _Mr. Popularity._" It was Axel.

"Axel." Terra muttered his name.

Axel was glaring at him before he grabbed my arm and shielded me from Terra's view.

"I'm not here to create trouble, I just want to help." Terra said earnestly.

"Don't need any." Axel answered simply. He kicked the locker door hard and it swung open. The boy came tumbling down, groaning on the floor.

"You alright?" I pushed past Axel and bends down to him. I gave the boy a gentle pat on his head (what? I can be caring too!).

"Thanks." I smiled at Axel.

The frown quickly disappears from Axel's face, replaced by a joyful look. "No probs' newbie, us outcasts gotta protect each other y'know?" He gave a toothy grin before glaring back at Terra.

"We got him out, so why dontcha' move along and go stink someone else's life?" Axel 'shooed' him with his hand.

Terra remained silent for awhile, and then he looked at me straight in the eyes. "...I'm really sorry about Larxene. Trust me, not all of us are like that."

He seemed to be really sad for some reason. I couldn't help but to wonder what kind of person he really is. _He can't be that bad can he?_

"...My name's Aqua." I said quietly. OOOKKKAAAYYY I don't even know _why _I just gave out my name randomly.

However, the boy's face relaxed and he smiled. "Aqua. I'm Terra." His eye contact didn't waver and I couldn't help but look back.

"Okay stop with the mushy scene now." Axel suddenly came between us, _again._ "Fair warning _friend, _any of your funnyboys do anything to her I'll make sure there's hell to pay." He stared at Terra.

I was really touched by Axel's somehow scary threat. Nobody had really stood up for me before, not even my own dad.

Terra remained silent and nods his head. He turned around and began walking away, but not before saying, "It was nice meeting you Aqua."

* * *

_Aqua_

_

* * *

_

The cafeteria was jam-packed with students. It was just like my class! The students were causing havoc and the others looked like they don't bother much. I silently followed Axel as he was busy explaining about the school's true nature.

"Right. Basically the school's divided into two groups, the _jocks _and the _cultural _clan. The big guns that're practically pulling the strings in this school are the jocks. They own like, 80% of the school's budget and all that." Axel explained as he ducked to avoid a flying Frisbee.

"You need to watch out for them, though they're what you'd call _sportsmen _and _athletes _that had brought honour to this school are jes' a front for their more...illicit activities." Axel's face darkened.

"You mean, they do drugs?" I asked quizzically. Hey it could happen! Maybe they're using steroids and such!

"Some of them do." Axel answered seriously "But most of them are jes' bullies. Not that Imma' busybody or nythin' but I jes' don't like the way the roll y'know? And you already know this; you screw with any of em', you're as good as dead for the rest of your school year."

I nodded in agreement. Bullies are the worst. I shot a look at the blond boy beside me, he was also another victim...poor thing. I ruffled his hair and smiled at him. The poor boy was surprised for a moment but he returned my smile with his own grin. _Aww..._

"Next we have the cultural gang. Not really a gang though, jes' clubs really...They're more known as _Culties_. They don't really do much actually, and I'm friends with some of em'. They do things like origami and all da' other crap. But under the radar they're in charge with keeping the school in order. Y'know? Balance the power between their clubs and the jocks'." Axel continued.

Okay I'm totally confused now. Bullies? Powers? Seriously is this school even _normal_? I gave him a strange look and he laughed.

"You'll get used to it." Axel flashed a toothy smile "Oh, and then there's the _third _unlabelled group. _Us._" He pointed to me, the blond boy and then Lightning.

I jumped in surprise when I noticed that Lightning had been following us ever since the incident just now. I didn't even feel her presence! What is she, some kind of elite, super-trained soldier?

"U-Um...hi?" I tried my best to be friendly and gave a nervous wave. She returned my greeting with a quick nod. _Lightning..._what a weird name...

Axel seemed to have noticed me wondering. "Her name's not really Lightning though. Last name; _Farron_. First name; anyone's guess." Axel laughed heartily.

I shot him a quizzical look but then decided to shrug it off. The school is weird enough anyways. "So when you said _us_, what'd you mean by that?"

To my surprise, Lightning was the one who answered my question.

"We're _outcasts._" She began with a tensed tone. "We're not committed to any clubs or on any of the two sides. Put it in simpler terms; we're _losers_." Her tone ended a bit too sarcastic.

Axel and the blond boy nodded in agreement.

"And what made the jerks pick on you?" Axel turned to him, only noticing the boy had been following them until now.

The boy contorted his face, thinking deeply. "I, uh...spilled my lunch all over Larxene on the first day of school..."

Axel laughed at this and Lightning gave the boy a 'good job' pat on his shoulder.

"And my life's gone from normal to hell after that. Every day it's 'Say Hello To Mr. Locker' day for me..." He hung his head low sadly.

Axel snorted. "That sounds like something Larxene would do. So what's your name kid? You a freshie?"

The boy nodded his head. "My name's Ventus, but you guys can call me Ven." He introduced himself.

A few seconds later we arrived to the furthest table in the back of the cafeteria. I noticed the place was strangely empty, as if avoided from the masses. There was a strange black line painted between the rest of the school and here.

"The kids won't go near here cuz' this is where _we _hang out." Axel said matter-of-factly. I noticed that there were only two people sitting in the 'blacklisted' zone. One was a blond boy holding a guitar while the other one...

I recognized immediately who she is.

"Yuffie!" I called my cousin.

The brunette spun around and her face shone in delight. She did a cartwheel and crashed/hugged me.

"Cuz! It's been ages!" She laughed as she brushes her face against my chest furiously. Then she frowned, looking at my chest. "Hey...have they grown again?"

Oh. She was referring to my boobs.

My face lit a bright colour of red as I shake my head furiously. However Yuffie gave me a dirty smile.

"You can't fool Ninja Yuffie! Lesse' how much these beauties have grown!" As quick as lightning she got behind me and grabbed my boobs.

"Y-Yuffie! Stop that!" She's groping me in public! I tried to push her away but she's clinging onto me like a monkey to a tree.

"G-Guys, help!" I turned to my three friends for help. Axel lets out a wolf-whistle while Lightning merely shrugs and Ven was looking away awkwardly.

"Hehehe I was right! They've grown a lot since I last saw them." Yuffie grinned and finally let me go.

"_Sob* _That was cruel, Yuff..." I sobbed and massaged my chest.

Yuffie looked a bit guilty and patted her cousin's head adoringly.

"Aww I'm just playing around cuz. It's really been a long time and I really missed you!" She grinned again.

I pouted a bit. I'm not gonna forgive her anytime soon but she pulled out her special trick; the sad puppy eyes and I groaned. Yuffie has always been like this. Pretending to be a ninja, cheerful and energetic, she never seemed to run out of steam. Unlike lil' ol' me, she's very adventurous and a bit of a tomboy.

"Ugh, not the puppy look..." I tried my best to resist but she puffed her lips out for the ultimate finisher. "Ark- Fine, fine... You're off the hook this time..." I grumbled.

Yuffie lets out a cheer and hugged me again.

"It's really nice to see you too Yuff..._watch your hands!_" I warned her as her hands had sneakily made their way to my chest again.

"Never knew you two were related." Axel said from behind. He took out a bag of potato chips and sat in front of the other teen, a boy with blond hair sported into a mullet.

"You just _knew _me." I rolled my eyes.

Axel merely snorts and turned to the mullet boy. "Sup' Dem? Met the new girl yet?" Axel pointed to me. The boy merely shook his head, a little too sadly perhaps.

Axel frowned at his reaction, finding there's something wrong with his friend. "Yuff, sup' with Dem? Someone ate his dog or sumthin'?" Axel made a joke but the boy didn't even respond. Instead he played his guitar glumly.

Yuffie stood up and patted him sympathetically. "Demyx here is jes' sad cuz' his band kicked him out."

"Seriously? But Demyx's the best guitarist around! Why'd he get the boot?" Axel was shocked to hear the news. His friend, apparently, is one hell of a player that can play through one full song with his eyes closed.

"_Seymour." _Yuffie rolled her eyes. "He got jealous when Yuna flirted with Demyx during their last gig. Heard he used his _Jock Authority _to kick Dem out." She looked at the still downcast Demyx.

Axel's face darkened and I could see Lightning winced from the mere mention of the word 'jock'. Seriously now, why do they have to be such assholes?

"Hmm... I've been hearing rumours that the jocks weren't too happy with Demyx being in _their _sponsored band because he's an Outcast..." Lightning scratched her chin meaningfully, relaying that piece of information to us.

"So now Dem can't enter the Spring Battle of The Bands competition. They replaced him with _Seifer_." Yuffie continued.

"The bloke who's always around Larxene?" Ven suddenly spoke up. Realizing all eyes were on him now, he quickly looked at the ground. "Err, sorry..." He apologized.

"What for?" Yuffie gave him a grin. "Yup, _that _very bloke alright. Turns out he always wanted to take Dem's spot so he can hit on the ladies." Yuffie was quick to get acquainted with Ven afterwards, putting the boy in a headlock and laughing.

"Sorry to hear that man, wish there was something we can do for you." Axel gave a look of sympathy to Demyx.

Demyx hung his head low. "Nothing you guys can help...not unless you can find another band for me before the dismissal bell. The deadline's today."

No one said a word. We knew it was impossible to find a new band in time. Everyone was feeling down and out. But somehow I was boiling up with anger.

Don't the teachers know that there are students being mistreated? And what's with the Jocks having all those insane powers over the other students? What makes them so special? And us 'Outcasts' being treated like dirt? There must be something that we can do...

And an idea clicked to me. I quickly ransack my vest and pulled out the school rulebook. I skimmed through it at high-speed and found the article I needed. I read through it then...

"Guys..." I closed the book and looked at the others.

"What'd you say if we make our own _club_?" I gave them a mischievous smile.

Time for a revolution...

* * *

Ya-haw! Well...wutcha guys think? The fic's still in experimental stage so I dunno how you guys r gonna react...flame me if you want! :p Ya-haw!


	2. CHAPTER II: Let's Find Our New Members!

Ya-haw! Thank you guys soooo much for reviewing the 1st chapter of this fic! Well I kinda suck at these kinds of things but special thanks to:- bri333865, Luxuria De'Voire (u especially! ^^), LightningClaire, dikemon, Jamilaxhearts, n UltraWonderBoy! We-ll without further ado here's the second chappy! R&R guys ya-haw!

* * *

CHAPTER II: Let's Find Our New Members!

Everyone was looking at me like I've gone crazy. Oookkkaaayyy, maybe the idea's a bit farfetched but it's the best solution I can come up with.

"You delirious girl? I think Larxene must've hit you on the head too hard..." Lightning shook her head sympathetically.

"B-But think about it! Okay, so the jocks own like, _everything _in this school right? And the culties exists to balance them out. Am I getting it right so far?" I looked at the others.

All of them nodded in agreement.

"Then think about this; _Who _are the jocks fighting against that we need the culties to balance them out? _No one_. There's absolutely no other club or anything else that can overrule the jocks." I spoke at high speed.

Everyone seemed to have gotten the picture now. Axel was staring at me in amazement and Lightning raised her eyebrows. _Waitaminute, _didn't anyone ever thought about it before?

"You're right... I mean, Kairi told me once that they're not technically at war with them jerks... Newbie, you're a genius!" Axel slapped my back roughly.

I rubbed my back meekly. _You could be a little bit gentle with me y'know..._

"So this means that if we make our own club..." Yuffie seemed to have cottoned on too, her face showing the purest form of delight.

"We can stand up to those jerks!" Ven finished for her. They both high-fived and grinned at each other.

"Hey, I'm all in then! Let's go sign up right now!" Axel stood from the lunch-table but Lightning looked at him sceptically.

"I'm not sure about this... I mean, if it was this easy then wouldn't someone else had tried that idea first?" She crossed her arms. Clearly she had given it some thought before voicing her opinion out.

I stood up and adjusted my glasses. "Erm, I think it's cuz' the other kids are too scared of what might happen to them if they rebelled. The jocks have been running this school as long they could remember right? So maybe all they need is a lil' push." I reasoned with her.

Lightning thought about it for a moment. From the looks of it she has mixed feeling about the idea.

"Lightning... We're the only ones that can do this." I looked at her determinedly.

Finally she sighed and raised her hands. "Fine...I'm in..."

"Ha ha, that's the way!" Axel laughed and looked at all of us. "So what're we waiting for? Let's go to the faculty room!" He grabbed my hand and hurried to the faculty room.

* * *

_Aqua_

* * *

"What do ya' mean _no _old man?" Axel slammed his fists onto a table.

"Calm down Axel, it's just that, well... What _kind _of club did all of you say you wanted to create?" Auron gave him a confused look.

Mr. Auron is my Homeroom teacher. He has jet-black hair, wore a pair of black, round glasses and wore a Japanese robe that covers his mouth. He's also the Co-Curriculum teacher, meaning that if we want our plan to be a success, we have to go through him first.

"A free-for-all club!" Axel raised his hands, as if that justified his statement.

Mr. Auron massaged his temple, probably getting a headache from handling Axel too much. "I'm sorry Axel, it's just that your idea is..._preposterous. _What the hell kind of club is that?" He said bluntly.

"It's a club for kids like us that has nowhere to go!" Axel explained dramatically. I mentally slapped myself. Trust Axel to 'dumbified' everything I told him to say.

"Erm, Mr. Auron, _sir_." I emphasized on that last word. Teachers love to be treated with respect, I'm guessing Mr. Auron is no different. Sure enough, his face became more relaxed and I _think _he smiled at me (I can't see his mouth cuz' of his robe).

"You're Aqua right? Ansem told me you were joining my kids today, sorry I didn't come greet you this morning, ran into some trouble with an old friend of mine." He said with a small laugh.

I immediately notice a few things about Mr. Auron. He's strict, I can tell, but not without reason. And he called his students "my kids", which I can tell that he cares about us a lot. His eyes also show a lot of sincerity (despite him wearing those funky black glasses!).

"It's okay sir, glad to finally meet you." I smiled back at him. _Maybe if I play my cards right..._

"Erm, sir... About our proposal to create that club..." I began slowly. Always start with some hesitation in our voice, basic ass-kissing 101.

Mr. Auron frowned a bit but he didn't interrupt me.

"W-Well sir, we're actually trying to create a club that's beneficial to _all _of the student body. We know that all the athletes are in the sports club and people who likes to read and do literary stuffs are in the cultural club." I continued.

Mr. Auron nodded to show that he understood me.

I inhaled and pursued my effort. "So what about the ones in-between? I mean, don't you think we should also have some sort of a mix of both the sports _and _the cultural club? That way we can help students that are...that are like _us _sir." I gestured to the others and myself.

Mr. Auron understood what I just meant. He seemed to know what's happening between the students. I finished my speech and looked at Mr. Auron expectantly. He massaged his temple again and sighed. I could see the answer forming in his mind now...

"Fine..." He relented.

I jumped and cheered as the others joined me while Demyx, who had been looking sulky up until now, gave a toothy grin to me. However, mr. Auron held a hand up to stop our cheering.

"Not so fast kids. There is a catch y'know?" I know he's _definitely _smiling now. "Since you guys are going to be 'competing' with the athletics department, I'm setting a members' quota for you to reach. That is, _if _you're serious about making the club." He looked at us with a deep, meaningful look.

Axel, who had been completely fooling around, stood up straight and looked at Auron with a serious expression. "We're definitely, _infinitely_ serious old man."

I was awed by his determination. So he _can _be serious if he wants to.

"Good." Mr. Auron patted his shoulder. He took out a blue paper and wrote the amount of students we need to gather for our club. "Let's see now... I think about 10 should do for now." He gave his signature on the paper.

"Old man!" Axel looked at him, surprised. "Why'd you sign it now? You know that makes the deal as good as sealed right?"

"I know." He said simply. "And I trust you kids."

His words definitely touched me. Even Axel was taken aback by Mr. Auron's trust in us. I went forward and took the piece of paper from him. "We'll get the members sir, I promise." I gave him my word.

He nodded and waved his hand, signalling us to leave now.

* * *

_Aqua_

_

* * *

_

After recess it was self-study time, so the gang gathered in the school garden. Except for me and Axel, the others had skipped class and joined us to "_have some in the sun_" as Demyx sang those words.

I sat under a tree as Axel lay down lazily beside me. Lightning was perched on top of the tree (she said that she's scouting for any enemy incomings) while Yuffie was teaching Ven how to do a handstand. Demyx sat beside me and strummed his guitar, playing a tune from the song '_Summertime'. _

"So we have newbie, me, Lightning, Yuffie, Dem and freshie. Total members: Six. We need four more to fill the quota." Axel yawned. Seems like he's back to his 'lazy-ass' mode, as Yuffie would say it.

"Great, where do we find em'? E-Bay?" Yuffie looked at Axel as she made a cartwheel.

I rolled my eyes at the lame joke my cousin just made.

"No doofus, we swipe em' from school of course." Axel rolled his eyes too.

"Erm, how do we do that exactly? I mean, we're _labelled _outcasts. How many students are gonna' help our cause actually?" Ven stated. He makes a good point, I guess...

"Do whatever you can." Axel looked at him. "Threaten them, extort them, blackmail them or kidnap them or sumthin'..."

...He actually sounded serious. Ven shuddered and shook his head.

"Don't worry guys." I gave them an encouraging smile. "We can get the number up by the end of the day, no problem."

Yuffie rolled to me and lay down on my lap and purred. "Exactly cuz'! Err...How exactly are we gonna find them?"

"I'm sure we'll find the people we need." I said as I slapped her hand away from playing with my tummy. "There're definitely more outcasts out there than us."

"Right. Straight to business then." Axel stood up and the rest followed suit. "Guys, split up and make a search round the school. Make sure to _avoid _being detected by jocks. We meet back here in an hour, got it?"

Everyone nodded and left the garden.

* * *

_Aqua_

_

* * *

_

_Lesse' now, if I'm being bullied by my classmates and people think I'm a weirdo, where would I hide from them? _I walked around the empty hallways of the school. Guess the other classes are studying... Then it clicked to me; the _library!_

I hastened my steps and after many rounds (I dunno' why I keep getting lost!), I managed to find the Hall of Wisdom (the name of our library, given by Headmaster Ansem).

I opened the wooden door and peered inside. Rows of cabinets filled with unimaginable amount of books filled my eyesight. I-I can't believe it! This place is magnificent!

I've always loved reading books ever since...ever since my dad read to me 'Snow White'.

I wandered around the shelves, looking for a living person. Somebody...Anybody...

Then I heard the sound of pencil scratching against a paper. Delighted, I quickly walked towards the sound and saw a familiar blonde girl, sitting underneath a window.

"Naminé!" I called out to the girl happily.

Naminé jerked and accidentally dropped her sketchbook. She turned her gaze to me sleepily and mumbled, "Hello there...Miss Aqua..." It took her a while to remember my name.

"What're you doing here?" I bended over and looked at her. She was wearing the same outfit I was (albeit smaller than mine!) and wore the same expression she had yesterday.

"...Merely drawing..." She mumbled and retrieved her sketchbook.

I continued staring at the girl fondly. I don't know why but I became strangely attached to the girl (now that I know she's not a ghost!). "Hmm... Aren't you supposed to be in class right now?" I thought it was weird, was she playing hooky?

"I'm..." She hesitated a bit, unconsciously her hand went straight to her left arm, as if hiding it. I knew something was wrong.

I went closer to her and grabbed her left arm. Naminé flinched and tried to wriggle free but I gripped her tightly. She sat there helplessly as I studied her arm. It was scribbled with all sorts of writing, one of them was;

_I'm a filthy whore_

Naminé kept looking back and forth from my face to her arm. For the first time she looked vulnerable, and helpless. The pit of my stomach was burning again.

"Who-did-_this_?" I said through gritted teeth.

She hesitated again but I gave her a look that made her spill the truth. "The girls from my class..."

"Why?" I pressed on.

"...They caught me talking to Roxas, when I shouldn't..." She mumbled quickly.

"Roxas?" I frowned at the girl.

"A...boy in my class...My classmates weren't happy at all...They told me once that I should stay away from him...But he was the one that kept on talking to me..." Naminé explained.

"So they did this to you? What else did they do?" I was really angry now. This poor girl was bullied just because she was talking to a guy!

She merely shrugged. "It's nothing new...Been like this since middle school and freshman year...I've gotten used to it." For the first time, she gave me a smile. It wasn't the smile I had wanted to see, it was a dreadfully sad one.

"It's-not-right." I gritted my teeth again, and then it suddenly hit me. "Naminé...are you an _outcast_?"

She stared at me for a moment and then nodded. "I'm pretty bad at sports...and the cultural club won't have me because I tend to skip their activities a lot...so yeah..." She gave me the sad smile again.

I could really cry right now. I really hate seeing the people I love (although I just met her, I've already taken a liking to her!) getting hurt for no reason. It's unjust and unfair, just like what happened to Ven during lunch hour.

It studied the sad girl again and noticed a few black and blues around her arms. Her face too had a faint odour of antiseptic and thick makeup at that. Bullied...and abused.

"They _hit _you?" I looked at her sympathetically.

She merely stayed quiet, looking at the opposite direction. I gently turned her head to face me.

"Naminé." I stared straight into her eyes. "Join my club." I've decided. If no one else is going to protect her then I will!

She looked at me with confused eyes. "Your club...?"

I nodded. "Yep, it's a club for people like us who has nowhere else to go." I gently held her hands. "You can do whatever you want, and talk to anyone you want. No one is gonna' hurt you, I promise."

For the first time I saw some life sparked in her dead eyes. I knew she was actually hurting inside, and just like me, she didn't want to burden anyone with her problems. Being a busybody, I'm making _her _problems mine. "And everyone in the club will be your _friend_."

Naminé hesitated. Joining a club means meeting new people. Although she preferred peace and quiet she couldn't deny her heart which is screaming at her that it's lonely.

She remained silent for awhile before, "W-Will you...be my friend?" It wasn't a question; it was a plea for help.

I gave her a huge grin and ruffled her hair. "Silly girl, I'm already your friend."

Naminé beamed. The difference between her usual demeanour and now was astounding. She's like a totally different person!

"You're sooo adorable!" I jumped at her and began pinching her cheeks again.

"Oww-Oww! C-Careful!" She complained quietly, massaging her cheeks.

I withdrew immediately. "S-Sorry, I forgot that you're injured." I looked at her apologetically, twiddling my fingers together.

* * *

_Aqua_

_

* * *

_

"So we're supposed to look for more members to join the...whatever it is club right...?" Naminé inquired quietly, already in her 'ghost' mode but she seemed to have change a bit around me (which is again- adorable!)

"Uh-huh." I nodded. "We need to find anyone that might be interested to change this school's tradition." I said firmly. _Viva Revolution baby!_

Naminé went quiet for awhile, as if thinking deeply.

We went around the library hoping to find someone but there wasn't a soul in sight. "Uhh... Naminé..." I turned to the blonde girl. "Do you know anyone else that might be in here? Y'know, when you were usually sketching."

She pushed the side of her head lightly with one of her finger, thinking again. I was resisting with all my might from jumping at her again (I feel like Yuffie...).

Her eyes suddenly grew wide and she snapped her fingers. "The flower-smelling sister."

I gave her a confused look but she immediately ran around the aisle.

"Naminé...?" I was puzzled but I followed her anyways. She was jogging quietly and we went deeper into the library. After a minute or so she stopped running. I panted as she looked left and right.

"W-What are you looking for?" I bended slightly and supported myself by leaning on a cabinet.

Finally, Naminé found what she had been looking for. She held up her arm and pointed to the front.

I looked at the direction she pointed. I was a little surprised to see a girl there, sitting behind a desk.

"There she is." Naminé said with a smile. We walked towards her and I studied her for awhile.

She has long brown hair tied in a braided ponytail and simple curls at each side of her head that covers her face lightly. Her face seemed to shone even in the dimly lighted library. Her green eyes looked up to us as she noticed she has guests. I couldn't help but to think this; _she was beautiful_.

"Why hello there Naminé, I'm glad to see you again." She beamed at Naminé fondly and closed the book in front of her. She got up and made her way to us.

Getting close to her now I can see that she's actually _taller _than me, although just by a lil' bit.

"Aerith." Naminé said with a smile as the girl patted her head. She then turned her attention to me and gave me a gentle smile.

"And who do we have here? Are you Naminé's new friend?" She was very sisterly in a lot of ways and I could feel that I was slowly getting attached to her too.

"Y-Yes, my name is Aqua." I stuttered. Lame!

"My name is Aerith. It's nice to see Naminé bringing a friend to visit me. She's often alone and I'm worried about this poor girl." Aerith studied Naminé's condition, and seemed to know what happened.

"Wait here, I'll go get the medical kit." She turned and entered an old room which I hadn't noticed before. She returned a short while later, holding a white medical box.

We sat on the floor as Aerith tended to Naminé's bruises. The blonde girl winced but Aerith prodded her gently.

"There, all done." Aerith said with a satisfied tone. She packed the medical kit and puts it aside. "Now if you want those books about drawing Naminé they've just arrived. I held onto them for you." Aerith gave the blonde girl a smile as she looked delighted.

I thought it was weird for a girl like Aerith to be here. She's beautiful, caring and I get the feeling that she's smart too.

Naminé coughed slightly. "Well...Aerith here is the school's valedictorian...She's also good in medications and taking care of other people..."

Eep! How'd she know what I was thinking? I gazed at Naminé and wondered if she's an ESP.

Aerith waved her hand as if waving those compliments off. "It's nothing...I really love reading, that's just it." She gave her bright smile again.

"But what are you doing here?" I was confused though. Why is the school's valedictorian sitting in a dusty library in the middle of school hour?

Aerith looked away sadly. "Well...It seems that the other students aren't comfortable with the idea of an outcast being the smartest kid in school."

I was shocked to hear that. "You're an outcast too?" It just couldn't be. This beautiful, kind and smart girl in front of me here is an outcast like us? Has the world gone nuts?

Aerith nods her head. "I came from a poor family and had to work hard in a flower shop across the school during my freshman year. One of the jocks found out and before I knew it, the whole school made fun of me for being a 'poor flower-peddler'." She smiled sadly.

_Again _the jocks! My anger rose within me once more. "That's cruel!" I protested.

"It is, but there was nothing someone like me could do about it. The insults continued until my sophomore year where I got first place in the nation's aptitude exam. They couldn't accept it so they shunned me instead." Aerith explained.

I knew that 'they' means the jocks. "So you've been hiding in here all this time?" I asked her.

"Yes, this hall of books is my sanctuary. At least I won't be judged or criticized here." She looked around fondly, but somehow I sensed that she wanted to enjoy her school life outside too. I know now who my next candidate is.

"Aerith." I put my hand on her shoulder. "Join my club."

She looked at me quizzically while Naminé merely smiled.

* * *

_Aerith_

_

* * *

_

Aqua explained to me about how she and the other outcasts are trying to gather members for their new club. The idea intrigues me and I was all for joining it if it means making new friends.

"So, will you join us?" Aqua adjusted her glasses and looked at me hopefully.

I put my finger on my lips as I thought of my answer, then, "It sounds like fun. Sure, why not?" I gave her a smile.

Aqua squealed in delight and hugged me tightly. "Oooh thank you thank you thank you!"

"Haha, I should be the one thanking you Aqua..." I held back a teardrop. I was really happy of the fact that there's someone who actually _needs _me for the first time in my life (not counting Naminé, who always stumbled to me in some way).

Aqua looked at me happily. "Great, so we now have eight members! Just two more and we'll be ready to go!"

I gazed at her for a while. _Two more people..._ Then it hit me. _I should ask HIM to join too..._

"Aqua..." I called for her attention. The girl turned to me. "Erm, if it's okay with you...can I suggest someone for our club?"

Aqua gave me a smile which I assume means yes. I got up from the floor and beckoned for the two girls to join me.

We made our way to the entrance door and instead of going out, I turned to the right hallway window instead.

Aqua looked at Naminé inquiringly while she merely shook her head in reply. I opened the window and called for him.

"Cloud! I know you're there...Come here for awhile." I called out.

"I'm right down here..." Cloud's voice answered my call.

I looked downwards and saw the spiky-haired boy sitting outside the library, leaning on the wall underneath the window. I gave him a smile and he returned suit.

* * *

_Aqua_

_

* * *

_

So this guy is Aerith's recommendation? I studied him. Spiky-blonde hair, blue eyes, and a pair of earrings to match his cool aura. He had his shirt out just like Axel but was slightly more unkempt. He had his top button loose and a silver ring on his index finger.

His looks basically screamed 'juvenile!' but I know better than to judge someone based on their appearance.

Aerith spoke to him quietly about the club and he turned to stare at me. My heart gave a jump as he gave me a small smile and nodded his head.

Aerith gave a small squeal of delight and clapped her hands. "Oooh I knew you'd agree to it Cloud!" She turned to look at me.

"Aqua, this is Cloud, my 'bodyguard'. Cloud, Aqua." She introduced us to each other.

"H-Hi." I waved my hand awkwardly as he replied with a nod. I didn't understand what Aerith meant by bodyguard but I guess that can wait for later.

"So you're making some sort of sanctuary for us outcasts huh? Well good luck with that and if there's anything I can do to help don't be shy to ask." Cloud nodded again.

I got energized by his support. "Yessir I will!" I beamed at him while he chuckled.

I wanted to ask more about him but I guess like the question I have for Aerith, it can wait...

* * *

_Axel_

_

* * *

_

"Of all the slimes in the world, I have to run into _you_." I groaned and face palmed myself. I thought it was a good idea to check the basketball gym but _he _just had to be there when I got in.

"Axel..." Terra stared at me and stopped in his track. Behind him were a couple of his buddies from the jerk squad.

I didn't know what he was doing here at this hour but I couldn't care less. All I know is that I don't even want to be in the same room, let alone share the same oxygen, with him.

Just let him do whatever he wants and I do mine. I gave him a shrug and looked around. The gym was a known personal territory of the jocks but once in a while some poor freshman wound up hiding here when they're cutting class and had to face the wrath of these jerks.

Today was no different.

I peered through the gay-looking Kuja and the bulky Rai to see a brunette sitting on the floor. She was sobbing and covering her face with her hands. A bunch of hair was lying around her, which I could tell was hers.

I turned my attention to Mr. Popularity and saw him holding a pair of scissors in his hand. Hey, even I know what had happened here.

"You sunnuva'..." Okay, screw whatever shitty kind of relationship we had in the past. This here just proves my point that he's changed. "Bullying scared little girls now? You've reached a new low Terra." I spat.

Terra was perplexed. He looked as if he's just realized he was holding them scissors. "What? Wait, Axel this is not what it looks like."

I cut him short. "Whatever. Save the excuses for the teachs' hrm?" I couldn't care less if I was outnumbered. I pushed Rai away as he yelled "Yo!" and grabbed the brunette.

She gave me a look of surprise, the tears in her eyes are still prominent. "C'mon let's go."

But Kuja and Rai blocked the exit and I gave them a glare. _So much for staying clean for the day...Here goes my 'clean' record..._ I cracked my knuckles and shielded the girl.

However Terra had roughly grabbed his two club members by the collar, giving them each a look of pure terror. I remember fondly when we were kids though...used to give me that look every time I made Tifa cry.

"_Enough_." He pushed them out of my way. "You two caused enough trouble to this young lady here. I expect a written apology is in order. _Do I make myself clear?_" he added as Kuja and Rai had opened their mouth to protest.

I rolled my eyes. "Playing the hero now huh?" How the hell does this guy sleep at night?

Terra looked at me with sadness in his eyes. "I...know that you don't trust me much anymore, but I really hope that somehow...some way we can go back to be friends again. _Good _friends, Axel."

I crossed my arms. I wasn't really buying the crap he's trying to sell me here. "Uhh...Think you lost that chance when you _abandoned _us. Wait, wait, Tifa's on _your _side now too so that makes it only me." I said with sarcasm. It wasn't enough that he has to be the captain of the jerk squad, he somehow managed to convince Tifa to join his crew.

"Axel..." Terra began but I cut him short again.

"Listen _friend_, just make sure you keep your posse's here in line ya' here? And I'll keep _mine _in line." I pushed him away, pulling the sobbing girl with me.

Terra merely stayed quiet, watching us leave the gym but I could've sworn I heard him utter "It wasn't me..." under his breath.

* * *

_Lightning_

_

* * *

_

"_Lightning!_" Larxene screamed, trying to get a hold of me. I wheeled around and gave the blonde a swift kick to her side, and she tumbled to the ground.

"Who-wants-more...?" I panted and readied myself into a Tae Kwon Do stance. Eight to one...I'm kinda outnumbered here...

I had my back against the wall so that there won't be any chance of a sneak attack from the rear. I quickly looked at the silvery-haired boy crouching beside me. He was sporting a bloody nose and had a baseball bat in his hands.

"You okay?" I asked him. I sincerely hope he knows how to protect himself cuz' round two is about to begin.

"I'm fine..." he muttered, standing up awkwardly and glared at the jocks.

I gave him a short smile as one of them suddenly jumped to the front. I dodged his fist and gave him a hard kick to his stomach. He groaned and fell to the floor.

"Anyone else?" I looked at the remaining enemies. Don't think I can handle all of them...

"Damn it...Lightning..."

I turned to Larxene, who had stood up and was leaning against the wall, her pocketknife in her hand.

"This time..._this time _I'll definitely kill you!" She screamed and lunged forward. But before Larxene could register what had happened, she had been lifted off the ground and crashed onto a garbage dump.

I reflexively readied myself again. Oh great... _Snow_.

The large teen stood an impressive height of 200 centimetres tall, his muscles busting out of his school uniform, which he had customized to look like a trench coat. He had a black beanie covering his head, and his gloves already put on. His badge, a symbol of a brown bear, glistened under the sun.

"You idiot! You know the rules! No _blades _Larxene, and did you really wanna kill Light just now?" The giant grumbled as he picked the unconscious girl up and turned to stare at me.

"Wanna get it on?" I frown at the large man. I really don't want to fight him right now, Snow was known on the football field as the 'Monstrous Titan' for a reason.

However he merely chuckled and waved his free hand imperiously over the other jocks to leave. They heed his order and left, leaving only the three of us standing (minus Larxene who was unconscious) here in the school dumpster.

"Don't have the time for a bout right now Light. Xemnas wants all club captains in the meeting room ASAP." Snow explained as he turned around, heaving Larxene easily onto his broad shoulder.

I gave him an incredulous look. Xemnas, the vice-principal and head of the athletics department, had never called for _all _the captains to be present for a meeting before. "Something up?" I relaxed myself, seeing as Snow meant no harm.

"Think so. I mean, he even wants _Sephiroth _and _Vanitas _to be there. Must be something big." He gave a shrug.

"The fencing _Hero_ Sephiroth...and the _Enigma_ of ice hockey Vanitas..." Even I know who _they _were. I was becoming anxious now. What could Xemnas possibly want with them?

"Yup, nyway' see you around Light. Say 'hi' to your lil' sister for me." Snow winked at me mischievously.

I felt my face turning red but I managed to give him a death glare. "If you go _ten feet _near Serah I'll castrate you, you hear me?" I threatened the behemoth of a man.

He chuckled again, gave me a short wave, and carried Larxene out of there.

I stood there, thinking deeply while the silvery-haired boy beside me let out a sigh and sat on the ground.

"You know that guy?" He asked while wiping the blood stain on his nose.

"We're...acquaintances..." If you can call your sister's stalker an acquaintance that is... An all-captains meeting... _Sigh* _no use thinking about it now...I turned to look at the sitting boy. _At least I got a new recruit..._

* * *

_Yuffie_

_

* * *

_

"C'mon Dem! It's almost meet-up time and we haven't found anyone at all!" I sighed at the laidback guitarist. We were in front of the faculty office and he just _had _to play his guitar while we walk around the school.

"Chill Yuff, we'll find one no probs." He gave me a goofy grin and strummed his guitar.

"Anymore _chilling _and I'll destroy that guitar of yours if we're late you hear me?" I grumbled at him. Demyx just chuckled and continued smiling.

Suddenly his smile dropped as a bunch of girls was walking towards the faculty room. He gulped and tried to find a place to hide.

"What's up your butt?" I frowned at him. Demyx was really acting weird...weirder than usual anyway. But I knew instantly why he's fidgety. _Olette_. The brown-haired girl was giggling at something her friends were saying when she noticed us.

I gave Demyx an evil grin and nudged his ribs while one of Olette's friends did the same to her.

"Dem, there's your sweetheart over there." I said cheekily at him.

"S-Shut up, I'm trying to look cool here." Demyx had strike a pose whilst holding his guitar, acting as if he didn't see the brown-haired girl, who had turned a faint colour of red when she saw Demyx.

Her friends pushed her to the front as she muttered _"Okay, okay! Geez..."_ Olette hovered awkwardly, making her way towards us.

What d'ya know? Two peas in a pod. I snorted at both of their reaction. "Dem, think I'll go inside the faculty office for awhile y'know? Catch up with Barret and all..."

"S-Sure, you do that." The blonde guitarist stuttered.

I chuckled and turned, giving Olette a wink and entered the faculty office. I've only walked a few feet inside when I heard Barret's booming voice.

"FANG! HOW MANY TIMES MUST I TELL YOU NOT TO SKIP SCHOOL? YOU'VE BEEN TARDY FOUR TIMES THIS WEEK!" Barret's voice roared at a young woman inside his office.

"Geez, I hear ya' old man! No need to shout..." She dug her ears dully.

Barret Wallace was an ex-military Major who had retired from the war and now a physical education's teacher. His right arm had been lost during the war and replace with a metallic one (which is soooo awesome!). He's big and grumpy but I have my ways around the soft-hearted teacher.

"Hey Barret! Sup'?" I waved at him cheerfully.

He frowned when he saw me. "Yuffie, how many times do I have to tell _you _to call me 'Mr.' Barret? I'm a school teacher dammit!" However he didn't sound angry at all.

"I know, I know. So what's up your butt Barret?" I purposely forgot what he told me. I like to tease him, for reasons unknown.

He gave me a sullen look and nudged his head towards the young woman in front of him.

Her outfit was somewhat skimpy, body-hugging like Lightning's was but she wasn't wearing the school vest. She had her top buttons loose, showing a healthy amount of bosoms that would please any males' eyes. Her wild raven hair bounced messily every time she yawned or stretched.

"So are we done here pops?" The girl named Fang asked lazily.

Barret popped a vein when he saw her 'couldn't-care-less' attitude. But I was surprised by the sudden change in his voice.

"Fang...You gotta be more responsible. I mean you're a role model to Marlene, she looks up to ya' a lot y'know right? And I'm busting my ass trying to keep you from getting expelled." Barret's voice was low, and there was a hint of concern in it.

Fang became slightly pink from the comment, probably from shame. She looked away to maintain her composure. "I-I know pops...It's jes' that...school's been rough y'know?" She ruffled her hair anxiously.

"Wh-? Y-You can t-talk to me a-about it right?" Barret suddenly got excited. "I-I mean if something's bothering ya' I-I can help. W-What is it? H-Homework o-or maybe you got _boy _problems?"

Oookkkaaayyy Barret's being really freaky right now. He suddenly changed from a big burly bear to an excited Chihuahua. I edged back from him, hoping not to catch whatever it is he's having.

"_Daaad_." Fang groaned, rolling her eyes.

It took me a minute to register to whom she had called 'dad'. I looked at Barret incredulously, then to Fang. _Barret's got a kid? A real-life hot chick of a daughter?_

"What'd I say?" Barret made a frown as Fang ruffled her hair embarrassedly.

"It's no big deal okay? I just got bored of school, nothing seems to be exciting here." She yawned boringly. "And those jerks from the athletics department are being rowdier than usual this year. It's becoming a pain to handle them after I quit the volleyball team."

Barret merely stared at his daughter with his mouth slightly open. I think he didn't expect his daughter to open up to him.

"You're a jock?" I butted in interestedly.

Fang looked at me. "_Was _a jock hun." She gave me a wink. "And Larxene's been bitching about me to the whole school how I purposely threw away the final match for last year's championship. _She's _the one that missed the deciding ball." Fang rolled her eyes.

Hmm, an ex-jock is rare to find these days...There's a saying in Destiny High that once a jock, always a jock. I held back my reservations about Fang since she's Barret's daughter. _And she seems friendly..._

Barret, who had been staring at his daughter silently up till now, seemed to have found his voice as he coughed harshly. "Any-hoo, I don't want you to skip school anymore got it? And if the volleyball team's giving you a hard time I'll..." Barret made a dark look as he made to get up from his chair.

"Daaad." Fang whined again and forced her dad to sit down. "I can handle them, no worries okay? And I'll promise to _try _not to skip school anymore." She gave Barret an assuring smile.

However, Barret looked displeased that he couldn't be of any help. "I still don't like the idea of you facing them _jocks _alone...Wish you'd join the cultural club or sumthin'..." He grunted.

Fang gave a small chuckle at her dad's idea. "_Me_? A _cultie_? Hah, no way pops! I'm not some kinda' arts nut if you get the idea."

Barret suddenly gave a shudder, as if remembering something Fang had did in the past.

"I'm still not comfortable with you going through this alone. _Find-yourself-a-club_ young lady. That's an order and if you disobey I'll cut your allowance for two months." Barrett said with finality in his tone.

Fang looked shocked at Barret's threat but she knew her dad was serious.

"Fine, fine...Maybe I'll join the _Bonsai _club or sumthin'..." Fang muttered.

Now here's where Super Ninja Yuffie enters the picture. "Ooh, ooh I got a great idea!" I raised my hand up in the air.

Both Barret and Fang looked at me while I gave my best signature grin. _Chalk one point up for me!_

* * *

_Aqua_

_

* * *

_

As the bell for the next class chimed, I was already at our rendezvous point with my new recruits. The four of us were chatting animatedly about our interests as we waited for the others to show up.

Soon, Axel arrived, holding a disheartened-looking brunette in his arm. Lightning walked into the garden brusquely with a silvery-haired boy following her trail. After a minute or so Yuffie and Demyx arrived with a wild-looking girl laughing at something Yuffie had said and Demyx getting all hot and bothered about it.

All of us stared at each other nervously as we waited for Ven to show up. Minutes later he did, though he didn't manage to find any new members, he was soaked in what looked like green slime and a toy arrow sticking at the back of his head. He muttered a "Don't ask" as I made my way to him with concern.

We made a circle and sat on the comfortable grass (I was wiping away the slime on Ven's face). Before any uncomfortable silence could be made Axel clapped his hands and whistled for everyone's attention.

"Alright dudes _and _dudettes! I hereby announce the 'New Meat Hunting' campaign to be a success!" He announced jokingly and made some kind of loopy wave.

"Don't call it that way! You make it sound like we're some kind of werewolf or something." I scolded him. Axel let out a growl and jumped around like a puppy. Some of us laughed at him, breaking the tension.

Axel laughed to before looking at us all with fire in his eyes. "Right, right...Jokes aside, this is our first official meeting of the 'Free-For-All' club. We-"

"Can't we change the name? It sounds so dorky..." Yuffie whined. Axel gave her a scowl but some of the members nodded in agreement.

"BTW, _what _do we do in this club actually...?" Cloud spoke for the first time.

Axel raised his eyebrows when he saw Cloud. "...Wow, been awhile since I saw you Cloud."

Cloud gave an unexpected chuckle. "I could say the same to you. How's Terra and Tifa?" He grinned when Axel stuck out his tongue in a playful manner.

"You two know each other?" I became interested in their conversation. Again, Terra's name is mentioned in Axel's life.

"Tifa has a crush on this guy since kindergarten." Axel rolled his eyes. This time it was Cloud's turn to stick his tongue out and Axel to grin.

I don't know who Tifa is though... I was curious about Axel. Since morning he's been really nice to me, and a bit overprotective. I just officially _met _the guy today though so how come he's treating me so...I couldn't find the perfect word to fit this description...I guess _kind_ would suffice.

Axel clapped his hands again. "Right, anyhow what we do in this club is literally _anything _and _everything_. We're going against the jocks people."

Everybody gave a dramatic gasp, and then we rolled our eyes.

"Gee, it's kinda obvious ain't it?" Yuffie let out a yawn.

Axel scowled again. "I'm just going through with the _basics _introduction Yuff. Well, I think introductions of our _members _are necessary now. We'll start with you short-stuff."

Axel nudged the brunette girl he had brought and pointed to the middle of the circle. The girl gave a squeak and shook her head but Axel gave her a reassuring smile and led her there. She eyed us nervously and managed a small wave.

"H-Hi everyone. My name's Xion. Erm... Freshman, class 1-A." Xion introduced herself.

Some of us said 'hi' back and Axel nudged her again to continue.

"W-Well, I wasn't feeling well during fifth period so I went to the infirmary to get some rest. I got lost and ended up in the basketball gym and..." She trailed off, unconsciously playing with her rather short, uneven hair "..._they _surrounded me. Before I knew it one of them took out a pair of scissors and..."

She didn't need to finish it as all of us understood what happened.

"Why'd they cut your hair? Kinda' weird isn't it?" Ven piped up.

Naminé, who had been sitting beside Ven since just now, gave a look of surprise as if she just noticed the young boy and shifted to me uncomfortably. I raised my eyebrows at her but she merely shook her head.

"Kuja didn't like it. Said it made his looked bad." Xion said sadly.

The sophomores and seniors sighed in unison "_Kuja_" and shook their head.

"Who's Kuja?" I looked at Aerith interestedly.

"Well, he's a sophomore like you and he's in the basketball team. He, err...has a bit of an obsession with his hair." Aerith explained unsurely.

Lightning snorted at Aerith's answer. "The bloke's practically _in love _with his hair. Sometimes I wonder if he's gay... So he got jealous over a freshman huh?" She looked at Xion sympathetically.

"B-But she's a _girl_!" I protested. Of course girl's hair has to be long and silky and..._sooo_ not like mine... I pulled on my hair sadly.

Lightning gave another snort. "Doesn't matter to that pansy. Anyone or _anything _with shinier hair than his would receive the end of his wrath you can bet."

I scoffed at her explanation. Weird guy with weird ticks... After Xion, Naminé introduced herself and then Aerith and Cloud. Next in line was a girl named Fang, who somehow knew Lightning.

Lightning made an involuntary jump as Fang winked at her seductively, later chuckling as she saw the look on Lightning's face.

"Aww c'mon Light~ I was only teasing~" Fang pretended to whimper as she trailed Lightning's arm with her fingers.

Lightning pushed her away and looked at the opposite direction. "You haven't changed at all since third grade, Fang." She scowled as the young woman laughed at her.

Then, a young boy with silvery hair came to the front. He rubbed his left arm nervously as Lightning gave him a nod to go on.

"H-Hey there, my name's Hope. I'm a freshman and I'll be truthful from the s-start; I tried to apply to become a jock when I first enrolled here." Hope said nervously. As though expecting fists to come flying at him, Hope cowered back and covered his head but nothing came.

Axel gave a shrug while Demyx merely chuckled. "It's understandable kid. Everyone wants to be in the popular club." Demyx gave an understanding nod.

Hope relaxed and continued. "My application got through actually but... I failed cuz' I wouldn't go through with their induction week."

"What'd they asked you to do?" Fang crossed her legs, revealing her underwear for a moment before Lightning hissed at her to sit properly.

"Uhh...They told us to beat up any other freshmen labelled as outcasts..." Hope looked down at his feet. "I...just couldn't do it, y'know? That's why Larxene and the others went after me..." He trailed off, not wanting to relive the memory.

Axel nodded and beckoned for Hope to sit down.

We grew silent after that, not out of discomfort, but somehow we managed to understand each other's pain and what we've gone through alone (Although I just got picked on today!).

We enjoyed the moment of silence, watching each other. I smiled as Fang winked at me and Xion gave me an anxious smile. I nearly laughed when Naminé accidentally pushed Ven away when he got close to her (I still don't know why she's afraid of him though). Aerith was holding back tears and Cloud was trying to sooth her...

And then Axel began clapping his hands. I didn't know what for but I followed suit. It was kinda encouraging...Soon, everyone did the same thing. I clapped harder and fiercer, as if something was burning inside of me. A sense of passion and belonging...The clapping grew louder and then we all cheered and laughed.

Now we are together. We have _friends_.

* * *

Characters Intro! (Main ones first this week!)

The Outcasts

Aqua - The lovable goof of a transfer student, she's timid and shy, but can be blunt and courageous when needed. Hates any form of bullying and is not afraid to stand up for the weak (Even if she is categorized as weak herself). Bonded with Axel on their first meeting (maybe could be more, since she's not sure about him herself). Loves to sing and dance (Will be shown in future chappies!). Absolutely adores any form of cuteness and is intrigued by the mysterious air Terra gives off.

Axel - Hotheaded fiery troublemaker. This redhead is in a class of his own based own juvenile records and arson cases. Underneath the delinquent shell is a kind and friendly soul that isn't afraid to voice out his point of view. Childhood friends with Terra & Tifa, and old friends with Cloud & Aerith. Knows a lot about the going-on and what's the hottest gossip in school. Hates Terra & the jocks with a passion due to old scars. Has an interest in the new girl, Aqua.

Lightning - A total unknown in the school. Shrouded in mystery but rumors has it that she was once a soldier trained in assassination. Larxene hates her a lot since Light always kicks her ass. Formidable in a lot of martial arts and old rivals with Snow, whom she regards as a worthy opponent. Old friends with Fang. She's the 'eye in the sky' for the group and loves high places. She has a hard time bonding with her little sister Serah, whom has an interest in Snow (which she does not approve!).

Yuffie - Loves to pretend to be a Ninja since she was a kid. Yuffie is Aqua's cousin and co-sister. She knows what happened between Aqua and her dad and tried to help her cousin out. An outcast through and through, she rejected Larxene's offer to be in the volleyball club and prefers to hang out with Axel and co. Loves to tease Aqua, and seems to have bonded with Ven. She's childhood friends with Demyx, and regards him like a younger brother.

Demyx - Hardcore guitarist and Yuffie's old playmate. The mullet blonde is a happy-go-lucky guy and is always hard to displease. He's the Sun in the group where he's always shining (although he likes to play in the water a lot!) Has a huge crush on Olette since freshman year, and is too shy to tell her how she feels. Demyx hates talking bad about people and is timid to speak up for himself, that being the case when he got kicked out of his band by Seymour.

Ventus - Freshman. Fresh meat for Larxene until Aqua saved him from 'Mr. Locker'. He's energetic and cheerful, always rearing to go on anything. He's always the target for the jocks due to his small build and lack of self-confidence. Terrible at studies but good in sports, the reason he isn't accepted is due to his accident with Larxene in the cafeteria.


	3. CHAPTER III: Battle of the Bands, Here W

Ya-haw! Sorry I'm alil' slow on the update for this week! (Had some internet problem -_-") Well, wow I've got some good reviews so far! Special thanks to those who had commented on my grammatical errors (Sorry cuz' I'm still doing it!) And without further ado~ The 3rd chappy!

* * *

CHAPTER III: Battle of the Bands, Here We Come!

The day has still not ended, and already I've made new friends whom I could count on (I guess I can count on Axel too...). Our spirits were high but then Xion brought up an obvious question.

"Uh Ms. President... Where do we meet every day?" She forwarded the question directly at me.

Wait, why me? I'm not club leader material! It should be either Axel or Lightning or-or _somebody else _besides me! Even Naminé would do okay! (Well, maybe not since she doesn't interact much but...!)

"Oh haha, I'm not the President _or _leader of this club Xion." I glanced at Axel for help. He merely whistled and coughed a few times suspiciously.

Xion gave me a quizzical look. "But...Axel said _you're _our club president, Aqua."

"Wait-He said what now?" I was shocked! Appalled! Surprised! And any other form of word that could express my feelings right now as I gave an intense glare that could burn a hole in the back of Axel's spiky head.

Yuffie nodded in agreement to what Xion said. "It's true, see here in the form? Axel had signed your name as our leader cuz!" She gave a winning grin as she handed me a photocopied version of the blue form Mr. Auron had given us.

I took the paper weakly and read it carefully...Yup...sure enough...Club President: Aqua...Vice-President: Axel... I really want to faint right now.

I noticed from the corner of my eye a certain sneaky red-head trying to slip away quietly but with inhumane strength, I gripped his shoulder tightly. I could feel a dark, intangible aura forming around me as I stared at the guilty-looking Axel.

"Axel~ Sweetie~ Why is my _name _in the President box here? And why is _yours _in the vice-president box instead~?" I tried to ask him in a calm way, but maybe it somehow sounded scary as Naminé had seek the safety of Aerith's back.

Axel laughed half-heartedly, and it died down fairly quickly as my eyes became slits. "W-Wait! I only did it cuz' well, it _was _your idea newbie and it's a fair shame if I don't give you some credit for it!" He cowered as I hissed at him venomously.

"So _I'm _the one taking the brunt of the force when the jocks find out _we _made a club that's going against them, when we had planned this _together_?" I hissed again. This time, Naminé gave out a whimper and Aerith patted her head soothingly.

"Hey I'm the vice-president! I'm as good as burnt my ass in this plan too!" Axel objected. I sighed and shook my head. He doesn't get it, does he?

"You see, Axel, _sweetie_." I ran a finger through his hair in a way where people might say seductively. "When the jocks...no, the _whole school _sees that a new club has been established that's not under the sports or cultural department _and _the new kid was the one who supposedly _created _this club..._what _are they going to think about, can you hazard a guess~?" My sapphire blue eyes were burning in his acid green ones.

Axel gulped as he took a brave attempt for the most important answer in his life. "They're...gonna think you got balls?" He answered timidly.

Something inside of me snapped. "WRONG!" I twirled around and threw Axel into the air with my body, and he landed on the grass with a dull 'thud'.

The others let out an 'oooh!' and clapped their hands.

"The girl knows Judo." Lightning said, impressed.

Axel lie on the ground, spread-eagle and was staring at the blue sky. I landed slowly beside him, getting my face as close to his as possible (control the blush! ).

"See Axel, _sweetie_, they're gonna think of how to skin me alive over this lil' news. Imagine the new girl challenging the school order? It's like a Padawan going against the Jedi Order!" I gently pushed the strand of hair that was in his right eye.

Axel was breathing heavily for some reason, and then he let out a wolf-whistle. "I think I'm in love."

I immediately turned red from his comment. Noticing the close proximity between us, I quickly got up and adjusted my glasses. Yuffie let out a snicker while Cloud was grinning at me for some reason.

"I-Idiot..." I gave him a punch in his arm as he laughed.

"So...about the clubroom?" Xion asked again, bringing both of us to our senses.

"Oh yeah..._What _are we gonna do about the clubroom?" I looked inquiringly at Axel.

As if on cue, Ven jumped in front of me, grinning from ear to ear while holding a key in his hand.

"Got this from winning a dare against the archery club. Dunked myself inside a pool of gooey slime for this room-key here." Ven dangled the key in front of me.

"So that's why you're covered in slime! That's a stupid thing to do Ven!" I said crossly.

The young boy ruffled his hair guiltily as he chuckled a bit. "I wanted to do something for you guys...I couldn't find anyone so the best I could do is find us a clubroom at least." He twiddled his fingers together.

I gave an inward '_aww_' but I was still mad at him for doing this on his own.

"Be proud of the lil' guy Aqua. I mean, he did it for our sake, that's cool in my books." Demyx sat beside me and strummed his guitar.

I wanted to argue with the blonde but something stopped me. _The Battle of the Bands! _I suddenly remembered!

"Demyx!" I grabbed the guitarist's shoulders. "We have to go to the faculty room quick! The Battle of the Bands! We haven't signed up yet and-"

Demyx held a finger on my lips. "Chill Aqua, Axel's got it covered already. He sent our form in _hours _ago after Auron gave us the green light." Behind Demyx, Axel gave a small wink to me.

I tried not to blush too much as I thought of the possibility. Axel's got it covered? Well, he is _kinda _always two steps ahead of us in these kinda stuffs so... "That was very intelligent of you Axel." _Intelligent?_ Laaammmeee!

Axel stood up and bowed deeply. "Why thank you ma'am for the compliment." He joked and laughed. "Well, it's the best place to announce our existence to the whole school anyway. The battle's in a week so we have time to prepare." He clapped his hands.

I agree with his idea. The school hall would be the best place to...Waitaminute... I had a sinking feeling about the _'we' _part.

"Umm, Axel..." I poked his shoulder to get his attention.

"Sup'?" He wheeled around.

I tilted my head slightly and gave him an inquiring look. "Umm, just by _who _do you mean _we _are going to perform during the competition?" Please don't let him do anything stupid...

"Why us of course! Demyx is the lead guitarist, Light's on bass, Yuffie's the keyboardist and I'm the drummer!" He recounted with his fingers.

"_And _the singer would be..." I made circular motions with my hand, egging him to go on.

"You of course." Axel stated matter-of-factly.

I face palmed myself from his idiocy. "Are-you-nuts?" I really want to strangle this red-headed idiot right now!

"C'mon it'll be fun Aqua. I heard you humming yesterday, I can tell you have a great voice!" He raised his hands up in declaration mode.

"That-was-_humming_! This is singing we're talking about! I haven't sang in front of a crowd since fifth grade!" I shuddered as I remembered the horrible choir piece my class made for Teacher's Day. Our Homeroom teacher practically dropped on her knees in tears, although I was pretty sure it's because we finally stopped singing and she doesn't have to go to an ears specialist after that.

"I know, Yuffie told me." Axel pointed to his back where my cousin was waving her hand at me. "She vouched for your voice though, said you were brilliant."

I stood there, aghast at the two of them and their plan. "You guys are killing me here!" I groaned. First the president thing, now this!

Yuffie made her way to me and gave me a hug. "Aww c'mon cuz', it'll be fun! Sides I _know _you have an awesome voice! After all, that's how you snagged Za-"

"That's enough Yuff!" I quickly covered her mouth with my hand. I was sweating profusely now. H-How could she bring _him _up in this conversation? Thinking about him brings back a sense of humiliation and fear that I haven't felt since my last year in middle school.

Yuffie realized she shouldn't have brought _him _into the conversation. She face palmed herself and wiped the sweats of my face. "I'm so sorry cuz'! Just relax okay? Just relax..." She caressed my face with her hand gently.

"Who're you guys talking about now?" Axel seemed to have watched the entire show. He was showing a 'tell-me-everything!' expression.

However, Yuffie spread her arms in-between me and Axel. "Nuh-uh, girls secret Axel. Can't tell you that." I appreciate Yuffie's timely assistance. I wasn't in the mood to talk about old flames...

Axel merely shrugged and said "Whatever." He looked at Ven, who nodded at him and went to the front of the group.

"Alright everybody, let's go check our clubroom before the dismissal bell goes off okay? The band stays here for a group meeting." Ven clapped his hands energetically and guided the group into the school.

Cloud stayed behind with us as the band huddled up together for a short meeting.

"You guys can use my equipments I got in my garage. It's been a while since anybody used them but they're still pretty brand new." He offered.

"Thanks buddy, that'll be helpful." Axel thanked the spiky-haired teen. "So we all good with our instruments? No complains?"

I wanted to voice out but Yuffie stepped on my foot lightly to shut me up. I gave her a frown as she gave a thumb up at Axel.

"Good. Practice starts tomorrow at Cloud's place. He lives on his own so I don't think we're gonna bother anybody if we make a ruckus." Axel explained to us.

I mentally jotted down Cloud's address and waited for Axel to continue.

"Got it memorized? Great, next up is our song choice. We only got one shot at this so we need a really, really one hell of a crowd pleaser of a song. Aqua, you're the lead vocalist so it's your pick. The rest of us will follow through." He concluded.

I made to protest again but Yuffie made a 'tut-tut' sound and forced me to stay quiet.

"Alright guys, this is our first activity! The five of us are gonna raise one hell of a show! We need the others to help out with stuffs too so let's get going to the clubroom." Spontaneously Axel ran into the school.

"I'm guessing he's expecting us to follow him..." Lightning rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, walking into the school.

I stayed behind as I feel like my legs are gonna fall down. In a week I'm gonna sing in front of the whole school... I shuddered at the thought. Worst of all is tomorrow... When everyone's gonna know about our club... I massaged my temple. _This is gonna be a loooong week..._

* * *

_Aqua_

_

* * *

_

I was right.

The next day a bunch of flyers went up around the school stating our new club being established. Rumours flew around the school as fast as the gossips could carry them.

It started out with the truth where all of us (which includes Axel and Lightning) plotted this out as a sanctuary for the outcasts. Then it snowballed into how we sneak-attacked Larxene at the school dumps (Lightning shifted uncomfortably at this piece of information) and _I _openly declared war to the jocks and that I'm currently building a secret army of outcasts to overthrow Principal Ansem (which is ridiculous but hey, that's what rumours are!).

The jocks were eyeing me with daggers in their eyes and some (Seifer and Kuja) spilled a whole can of soda on my head. They high-fived each other as the other students laughed uncomfortably, as if forced by the circumstances. The laughter died down instantly however, with the appearance of a deadly looking Cloud and a nervous Xion (who apparently had reshaped her hair into something better!).

The jerks eyed them both uneasily and before they could pick a fight, Axel and Demyx had snuck up behind them and put a bunch of cockroaches (eww!) that they were supposed to bring to the biology lab into their pants.

Both Seifer and Kuja wriggled around and yelped as the cockroaches roam around in their trousers and they had to remove them in the end. They let out a series of curses as we laughed at their misfortune.

During recess, I saw Aerith was reading by herself in the school garden. I was happy for the fact that she's finally out of the dusty library and chatted with her for a while before we walked towards the cafeteria.

Our little 'black spot' had grown larger with the addition of Naminé, Aerith, Cloud, Xion and Fang. Yuffie had put up a board showing our club name (renamed 'Angel Wings' because Aerith said that angels could fly in the sky and be free, despite her having a certain fear over the sky) and our motto: We strive to help ourselves and everyone like us.

After school the girls (minus Yuffie, whom had mysteriously disappeared) had the pleasure of becoming housemaids to clean the clubroom as the boys had run off with multiple excuses (the worst being Ven, who said he got ballet practice at home).

True, Ven had given us a big help by winning a clubroom but he didn't mention the cobwebs, dusts and trashes that the archery club had left in their wake.

"This is gonna take _ages_." Lightning rolled her eyes. I thought she looked quite odd what with an apron around her waist and a scarf on her head (She looks like Cinderella!). I was wearing the same thing though (I swapped my hat for the scarf!).

"Don't worry, us girls can manage it if we do it together!" Aerith pumps her muscles (which she has none) and sweeps the floor with a broom.

Naminé was wiping the windows with Fang's help (Because she can't reach the higher windows) so me and Xion were left with mopping the floor...if we had a mop that is... We resorted to using old clothes instead that Aerith had brought along with her.

"So Aqua, I heard you transferred from Departure High." Xion suddenly asked me. I was caught by surprise from the girl's question but she seemed fairly curious.

"Umm yeah...I guess I haven't told you guys yet why I transferred huh?" I skipped ahead to the big question everyone wanted to ask.

Xion and the other girls shook their head.

I guess I can trust them with this lil' secret of mine. After all, aren't we supposed to be friends?

"The reason's real easy though...my old man kicked me outta' the house." I said simply.

Somewhere inside the room Aerith had dropped the broom. Everyone was quiet (whoa, I thought it was easy to understand!).

Suddenly Xion had hugged me. "Oh I'm sooo sorry to hear that Aqua! I shouldn't have asked!" She apologized as she squeezed the air out of me.

"W-What for? I'm not sad..." I couldn't lie about that I guess. I wanted to be strong so I pretended I was fine with being disowned but...I managed a fake smile anyways.

"But for a father to give the boot to his daughter? That's harsh hun'." Fang shook her head.

"If it's not too personal..._Why _did your father kick you out?" Aerith asked, folding her arms.

I grew quiet for a moment. "It's...something personal. Sorry Aerith..." I gave her an apologizing look. I wasn't ready to talk about _that _yet.

Aerith merely shook her head and smiled. "No, no, you don't have to apologize dear. But if there's anything you need just ask from us okay?" She gave me a sisterly hug, and the rest hugged me too (even Lightning, although her arms were stiff).

"R-Right, so anyways we need to get back to cleaning this room! We'll go grab a soda after this kay?" I quickly changed the subject. Everyone agreed and continued with their work.

I gave an inward sigh and stared at the dirty old cloth. _No use thinking about it now_. I told myself again and continued wiping the floor.

A few minutes of silence passed as we concentrated on our chore. Soon I was feeling a lot like Cinderella! Maybe I should act the part too...What was the song she sang when she was doing something like this? Oh yeah... I began humming the tune.

_Hm Hm Hm,_

I didn't know why but I began singing the song.

_So this is love, Mmmmmm_

_So this is love_

_So this is what makes life divine_

_I'm all aglow, Mmmmmm_

Aerith waved her hands to the others silently and pointed at me, but I was too distracted to notice.

_And now I know_

_The key to all heaven is mine_

_My heart has wings, Mmmmmm_

Cool, bubbles! Floating spheres that were reflecting my images!

_And I can fly_

_I'll touch ev'ry star in the sky_

_So this is the miracle that I've been dreaming of_

I was really into the song right now. Wow, Disney songs can be addictive!

_Mmmmmm_

_Mmmmmm_

_So this is love_

As I finished suddenly I heard a loud crash behind me. Aerith gave a startled cry while Lightning wheeled around, readying herself for any attacks. A window had shattered, it seems.

"Wow, did your voice do that hun'?" Fang joked and relaxed.

Guess the window was old and loose. Lightning had taken a spare old cloth and began picking up the shattered pieces.

"What?" I looked at her, confused.

"You were singing." Xion said with a smirk.

I raised my eyebrows at them. "I was singing...? Oh...!" I mentally slapped myself. I _was _singing the Cinderella song! I thought I was too engrossed in it that I didn't notice I was singing it out loud!

My face grew red as I muttered an "it's nothing..." and continued wiping the floor.

"Nuh-uh, I heard it too as well. You have a beautiful voice Aqua." Aerith sighed merrily.

Again, I couldn't help but to blush as the others were grinning at me. _Lucky no one else heard it..._

* * *

_Terra_

_

* * *

_

"_Sigh* _Xemnas was being a pain today..." I grumbled to myself. Earlier that day Xemnas had called all of the captains for a meeting again (although Sephiroth and Vanitas were missing). He wanted us to find out more about this supposedly 'new' club that's threatening to change the school's order.

Not that I care. Hey, it's just a club right? Just let them do whatever they want. _Deep down though, I wish they can change this crappy ass school of ours_...I shook my head.

Bullying cases are becoming more and more common (most of them from Larxene though) and there were lots of complains from Snow saying that he's not the jocks' babysitter. Poor guy has to run around the school a few times an hour to resolve a fight.

I walked by the archery club when I heard it.

A soft, sweet melodic voice.

"What?" I looked into the archery clubroom interestedly. Through the window, a blue-haired girl was singing a song (think it's from a kid's movie, whatsitcall' again?). Her voice was really enchanting, I couldn't help but to stare at her.

Somehow she looks familiar... I watched her for awhile...transfixed by her figure and her voice (and the bubbles floating around her added more to the mystifying effect!).

_My heart has wings, Mmmmmm_

_And I can fly_

I feel like I could fly right now too... I relaxed and supported my head with my arms as I lost myself in her voice.

_I'll touch ev'ry star in the sky_

_So this is the miracle that I've been dreaming of_

I'm gonna be dreaming about you after this...

_Mmmmmm_

_Mmmmmm_

_So this is love_

Is it...? I couldn't tell...But I do know that I have to meet you right now... I pushed against the window, wanting to get a clear view of her face but it suddenly fell and crashed inside.

_Oh shit_. I panicked and quickly ran away from that spot before anyone catches me. I ran straight into the basketball gym (which was not far from there) and panted heavily.

"Great work Terra...Count on your luck when it comes to girls..." I groaned and face palmed myself. "Stupid, stupid, stupid..." I hit my head several times.

I let out a sigh and lay down on the gym floor, spread-eagle.

_Just who was that girl?_

* * *

_Aqua_

_

* * *

_

_One day before the big battle!_

A group of girls appeared in front of our hang-out spot in the cafeteria. They looked like they wanted to talk to us but was feeling a bit uneasy. Axel, whom I had expected to scare them off, had joyfully invited the three girls in (In where is exactly the question as we don't own any part of the cafeteria -_-").

"Kairi! So how's it goin' with the student council stuff?" Axel dusted off a seat for the redhead and her friends.

Kairi heaved a long sigh and let herself fall onto the chair. "Really bad, didja' know that what you guys did here caused quite a storm in the meeting room? Mr. Xemnas was totally against it." She said as she unwrapped a chocolate bar.

"That dude always has something to complain about." Demyx added. He was sitting on a table and tuning his guitar.

One of Kairi's friend, a brown-haired girl who was holding a box of ribbons, blushed at the sight of Demyx. I merely gaze at the flustered girl as she opened and closed her mouth a few times, unsure on how to speak to him.

I gave a small chuckle. _Someone has a crush on Demy here hehe._ "So...whatcha' got there?" I asked the flustered girl. "Oooh, Demy she got a bunch of cute ribbons here!" I purposely include him in the conversation.

"Umm, these are for the band competition tomorrow...The Drama club is planning to help with the stage so we're thinking of decorating it to look more stylish." She said with a grin.

"Yeah, umm...they look really c-cute Olette..." Demyx struggled with the word. The girl named Olette blushed and nodded, both of them averting each other's eyes.

"Can't you guys ever talk without looking the other way?" Yuffie yawned.

The two became flustered and their faces grew even redder when Demyx accidentally held Olette's hand. I swear Demyx was about to faint right then and there.

"Anyways you guys ready for the battle yet? All the best kay, we'll be rooting for you." Kairi smiled at me.

I was introduced to Kairi a couple of days ago in front of the girl's restroom when a bucket of cold water fell onto me (just what is my luck with water here?). A group of girls, which I assume are jocks, were laughing at my wet look.

Kairi had appeared to my rescue, handing me a dry towel which she had brought along for gym class. We chatted a bit, until she had to leave to change her gym outfit.

"Thanks Kai...but I'm feeling _really _nervous now. The whole school's gonna be watching me!" It's true though, I was having second thoughts about this idea.

"Don't worry, if you ever get nervous just imagine the crowd in their boxers." Kairi's other friend, Yuna, grinned at me.

Yuna is a pretty girl in my class who's in the Music Club. She's really good at singing but she's not participating in the competition (she said that none of the cultural club members knows how to play a rock number!). She has heterochromia (to those who don't know, it means different eye colours!) one of her eyes is green while the other is blue. Tidus, a nice jock in my class, has a huge crush on her.

"I-I think if I do that, things will get worse..." I slumped my shoulders.

Axel ruffled my hat and laughed. "No worries newbie, the school's gonna be rocking to our beat after they hear us play!" He was so confident that we're gonna win this thing. "Worse that could happen is they'll throw stuffs at us." I didn't need to hear that one!

"Thanks for the vote of confidence Axel." I sank further into the depths of despair.

"You'll do fine, I've seen you guys play. You got what it takes to rock this school down. _Literally._" Cloud voiced out.

Everyone was looking at us with pride. It took me some time to notice that a certain Herculean boy was also staring at me. I gave him a small smile that made him nearly fall off his chair and he returned it with his own lopsided grin.

Unfortunately Yuffie caught our little interaction and smirked. "Ooh, something between you and Mr. Popularity now?"

She wasn't being snide when she called Terra that. It was his nickname given by the student body after he brought the school honour for being the first freshman to ever lead the basketball team to victory in the nationals.

I've asked Axel several times what his relationship with Terra is, and the only answer I got is "Ex-friends."

Axel's judgement of Terra aside, nobody else seemed to hold a grudge against that guy. Lightning said he's an 'okay' guy while Aerith said he's 'nice'. They don't seem to elaborate on him much.

Back to the present, I pulled on my hat nervously when Yuffie teased me. "N-No way, I haven't even talk to that guy _much_." It sounded a bit weird and wrong.

"You're not making sense cuz'." Yuffie yawned.

"Never mind Yuff." No use explaining it to Yuffie when she's started yawning.

Axel and Demyx had clapped their hands to get our attention and all of us looked at them.

"Alright guys, tomorrow is the big day!" Axel said to which we cheered and whistled. "We've worked, played, bled, sweated, and nearly broke our arms and one of us, our voice box (he grinned at me) to make sure our first big debut of an activity will be a success." All of us murmured 'too true.'

"We'd like to thank the culties for lending a hand in our cause" Demyx gestured to Kairi, Yuna and Olette "and without them we would've been the only band without costumes."

Wait, we're wearing _costumes _now? I opened my mouth then closed it again. I lost my will to argue back _days _ago. They wouldn't listen to me anyways.

"So we're giving the band members a chance to take a break today, since we've prepared our song for tomorrow." Axel concluded.

I let out a sigh of relief. _Great, that means I can finish my homework on time for once! _

They meeting ended and Axel went to talk with Cloud about the set-up for tomorrow. I just sat there while watching everybody else talk animatedly. Then I felt a funny feeling of having a pair of eyes staring at me.

I looked around and noticed Aerith, Fang, Yuna and Kairi frowning at me.

"W-What?" Somehow I _really _don't like the way they're staring at me.

"Aqua..." Yuna began quietly.

"What are you gonna wear for tomorrow's competition?" Kairi finished for her.

I thought about it for awhile before giving my answer. "I thought we're all wearing costumes? I guess I'm gonna wear that too." Or Axel's not gonna shut up about it.

"No, no...What we meant was; Are you gonna wear _that_?" Fang pointed her finger at my hat and glasses.

"What's wrong with them?" I fidgeted.

They let out a sigh. What? Are they that bad?

"Why do _you _insist on wearing these _atrocities_? Y'know Yuffie mentioned to me once that you have a really cute face..." Without warning, Kairi swiped my glasses of my face.

"H-Hey give them back!" I protested and reached for them back.

"See? You look real-" Kairi's words trailed off as she stared at me, her mouth hung slightly open.

_Again_, that uncomfortable feeling of being studied like a biology bug kicked in. "W-What?" I stared back apprehensively.

"Yuna..." Kairi called her friend softly.

Yuna, who had been staring at me too, nodded her head suddenly. "On it." She flipped her cellphone and was hitting the keypad furiously at top speed.

"Aerith...Fang..." Kairi used the same, monotone, soft voice.

The two young women nodded too and suddenly, each of them went to my side and grabbed my shoulders.

"Uh, guys...What're you doing?" I feel like I'm some kinda hostage...

"Makeover." Kairi beamed.

Oh that word! The spiteful, evil little word that I absolutely loathe!

I tried to wriggle free from them, but Fang was holding me tightly and Aerith had me secured too.

"N-No, no, no! No makeovers!" The memories of my old makeovers (courtesy of Yuffie) are still fresh in my mind. I remembered when I had a crush on a certain boy in 4th grade Yuffie had introduced me to the wonders of make-ups. Unfortunately I also remembered said crush's laughing face when he saw my thick, colourful face.

_I looked like a clown...and I became the school's laughingstock for a month..._ So who can blame me when I kicked Fang in the shins and ran away as fast as I can?

I heard Fang yelped in pain but I'll apologize later, now- HIDE!

* * *

_Axel_

_

* * *

_

_Day of Rock people!_

"WHERE in Heaven's sake is _Aqua_?" Demyx cried out. He was beginning to worry since our lead singer had been missing since yesterday.

I had my suspicions that the jerk squad might have tried to sabotage us but they couldn't know _who _our vocalist _is _because Aqua doesn't wear her fisherman's hat during rehearsals.

The band members were all gathered inside the clubroom except for Aqua and Yuffie. Somehow Aerith, Fang and Xion were missing too. The only females present are Lightning and Naminé.

The blonde girl was sitting on the sofa (we swiped em' from the faculty office) with her sketchbook in hand, lost in her own little world. However I did notice her peering at the clock every now and then, a small smile plastered on her porcelain face.

"Guys, seems like we're in luck today. Aside from our band there's only three others and guess what? They're all jocks." Cloud snorted knowingly and passed me the concert roster.

"Expected that. Guess none of the kids are brave enough to go head-to-head with them." I studied the rules of the competition. _No underhanded tricks...to be expected... No cheating...that's the same as the last rule...No Elvis Presley impersonation...Wait, what? _

"Which idiot wrote all these...?" I frowned at the idiocy of the so-called rules. "Doesn't matter, nyway' guys suit up. We're the last group to rock which gives us some advantage and little disadvantage." I clapped my hands to get the others' attention.

"Whytcha' say that?" Ven inquired, jumping up and down off a trampoline (swiped that too, from the cheerleaders' room).

"_Because~ _My lil' man Ven, if the others sucked that would be a good thing right?" he nodded his head as a sign that he understood what I said. "_But _if the others were awesome and _we _sucked, that'll be bad right?"

He stopped jumping to process my words, and then he grinned sheepishly and began jumping again. "Yup, totally got what you mean." Ven made backflip and accidentally landed on the floor with a dull 'thud'.

I let out a sigh. "Anyway we've got Naminé to thank for the cool designs of these babies" I pointed at our costumes or rather, suits "and we'll thank Aerith later for taking her time to _make _them." Where is she anyway?

Naminé had made an effort to draw out a black and white suit for us that's really quite awesome. Black suit, white shirt, black tie and black slacks that made the guys look like modern butlers (which we couldn't be since we wore earrings and other craps) and for the girls' design the slacks were replaced with a black short skirt.

"I think it's time..." Naminé said softly, bringing everyone's attention to the clock.

"Aqua's still missing! We can't go out there without a singer!" Demyx groaned and hit his head on the wall a couple of times.

"Or a keyboardist for that matter." Cloud added.

"Don't worry, she'll be here any minute." Naminé spoke, her attention fixed on her sketchbook again.

Demyx made to protest again but I held my hand up to silence him. "Right, if you say so."

Lightning, who had been silent all this while, suddenly spoke up. "Guys...while Aqua is still the main topic of our discussion...Do you think she'll be alright?" She crossed her arms and looked straight at me.

"She'll be fine. A lil' stage fright maybe, but she's got a good voice." I actually stood up for someone, wow!

"I _think _she has a good voice, but she's a little too...reserved...to sing _this _song, don't you think?" Lightning pointed at our song number.

Maybe a rock song might be a little too hard on her... "But we got no other choice. This song here is our only chance of winning the students' appeals. Sides', I think she's got more guts than you give her credit for." I gave Lightning a smirk as she looked at me confusingly.

"Another thing...I don't have any intention of insulting her...appearance...but the kids will laugh at her when she goes on that stage with her glasses and hat..." Lightning said matter-of-factly.

Another point taken... "Well, we'll be there for her after the whole thing blows over." I said unconfidently. "But maybe we can get her to take her hat off...not like anyone knows why she wore them in the first place." I gave a snort.

We've known Aqua for about a week now. Aside from her usual clumsy habits and scolding (usually to Yuffie and I), we don't really know much about her. Sometimes I caught her staring off into empty space and if my eyes weren't deceiving me that one time, she was _crying _while holding onto her little blue brooch. No one's seen the real face of Aqua behind that mask of her. _Quite a mystery, I might say._

My train of thought was interrupted by a knock on the clubroom door. Cloud went to open it and in came Aerith.

She was beaming at us and for some reason, she seemed _proud _of something.

"Sorry we're late everyone! We had to do some _minor _adjustments to our heroine here today." She was still smiling when she said it.

"Heroine, as in, Aqua?" Cloud raised his eyebrows at her.

Us guys were looking at Aerith like she had ate a frog or something...What could she possibly change from _that _(I imagined Aqua in her usual oversized uniform, no offense to her though).

"Ho ho ho, you'd be surprised." She gave us a sly grin and turned to the door. "May I present, gentlemen, our rock princess for tonight's show?"

We heard some noises and a protesting voice.

"_No no, I am not going out there looking like this!" _Aqua's voice was obvious.

"_C'mon cuz! You look good enough to eat!" _Yuffie assured her.

"Whatcha' do to her?" Cloud's interest was piqued.

"The wonders of a natural beauty...really." Aerith said with dramatic effect. Now she got all of the males' attention.

* * *

_Terra_

_

* * *

_

"You're gonna enjoy this man! C'mon don't give me that look!" Snow laughed heartily as he patted/slammed my back.

"How on Earth did I manage to let you convince me to go to this event?" I frowned at the giant man.

The school hall was as large as a football field. There was a huge stage at the front of the hall and rows of seats for the upper wing at each side of the hall. Although Xemnas had reserved the upper wing for the athletics department, Snow had preferred being in a crowd with the rest of the student body.

I preferred that too except that the other kids seem to be avoiding us. There was a prominent gap between us and them. _We're not gonna bite you guys or anything..._

Suddenly, I felt someone hit the back of my head. I gave a small frown as I turned to look at a smiling Tifa who was still bumping her knuckles on my forehead.

"Hey! Good work Snow you managed to drag our lil' sourpuss out of his lair." She gave an approving nod to Snow.

"Jes' doing my job for the greater good lil' missy." He gave her a grin.

I suppressed an urge to roll my eyes. "You two were in this _together_. I thought it was weird for Snow to be planning anything." It wasn't a direct insult as all of us knew that Snow was the type to tackle first, strategies later.

The two high-fived each other while I stood between them, disgruntled.

"Oh _c'mon _Terra. If I hadn't told Snow to come get you, you'd still be in the basketball court and it's already _night-time._" Tifa sighed. I merely grunted in response.

"Don't gimme' that look Terra. Y'see, I got a reason why I brought you here today." Snow suddenly lowered his voice into a whisper so that Tifa wouldn't hear him. "It's about your lil' melodious bluebird."

I quickly look up to the giant man, my whole body suddenly alert. For the past few days I've been trying to find the mysterious girl who sang inside the archery clubroom. I've asked some of my friends to help me out (Tifa and Snow, among the few) and find any information related to her. Trouble is, I have _no idea _how she looks like!

The only thing that I _do _know is that she has blue-coloured hair, that's all! I thought it would be a cinch since there are not that many girls with blue hair in this school (I mean, _come on_! _Blue_ hair!). However, it turned out to be quite a challenge as there were also girls who had apparently _dyed _their hair.

"What'd you got?" I tried to keep my excitement contained from my voice.

I didn't know why I'm so obsessed with that girl. I mean, I don't know her at all! But...That day, something sparked inside my heart. It was like a bomb that had set off, and every minute I spent my thoughts were on her.

Snow looked around to see if anybody was eavesdropping on him and then; "Well, apparently the Angels (you know, the outcasts club?) are gonna' be competin' in tonight's concert. Rumour has it (from a reliable lil' sister of someone in the club) the lead singer is a blue-haired rock goddess." He grinned again.

Maybe he was exaggerating a little bit but the info on the blue-haired vocalist interests me. I scratched my chin as I thought about the possibility...

"...I heard the President of the club has blue hair too..." What are the chances right?

Our conversation was interrupted by the host of the concert's booming voice. A beautiful girl with long, black hair stepped up to the stage with a microphone in her hand.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of Destiny High!" She waved her hand around as a sign of recognition to us. "On this very lovely evening is the fifth annual Battle of the Bands!" Her energetic voice is responded by a loud cheer. "First of all I, Garnet Til Alexandros, shall be the emcee for tonight! (...In recent events as Zidane had mysteriously disappeared...)" She muttered the last part darkly.

"E-hem, well we also have Principal Ansem to thank as he had approved of our request to have only one teacher to oversee this competition from going...awry." Garnet chose her words wisely. "So...Give it up to our favourite Co-Curriculum teacher...Mr. Auron!" Garnet directed her hand to Mr. Auron. Despite the dimness of the hall and the flashing lights, Mr. Auron still had his spectacles on and waved lazily back to us.

"Aaaaannnddd now! The moment you've all been waiting for! Without further ado, here's our first band of the night!" Garnet's voice was drowned by the roars of the audiences.

_After many agonizing minutes later..._

"I swear I'm gonna bust those guys' asses tomorrow..." Snow grunted sourly as he rubbed his ears gingerly.

The crowd seemed to agree with Snow as some of them were muttering darkly and most of them looked bored. The bands that had gone up the stage so far were pretty horrendous, except for Seifer's band.

They had performed _'21 Guns' _really well, and the crowd seemed to have enjoyed it. Only thing is, they don't lift the crowds' spirits up at all. I don't go to rock concerts much but I at least know that this competition was a dud.

"Umm...uhh..." Garnet was at total lost as she quickly read her cards. "Oh yeah! Alright guys, this is the last band for the night!"

At her words, I quickly straightened my back and gave my fullest attention to the stage. _C'mon, hurry up..._

"Alright guys listen up cuz' things are about to heat up! They're the revolutionary bad-ass...Err, sorry Mr. Auron." Garnet gave an apologizing look to Mr. Auron as she had used cursed...sort of...However Mr. Auron merely laughed and nudged her to continue on. "Right, well these guys are the real deal people. Outcasts that are changing the school! (A few of them are my friends actually) Give it up for...The _Angel Wings_!"

This time, the crowd did went into a frenzy. Any sign of boredom or sleepiness was gone the instant the band members stepped up onto the stage from the back hall.

I recognized Axel the second he got up there. He was giving the crowd his usual grin and egged on the crowd to scream louder.

TIfa had folded her arms and bit her bottom lips nervously. I was feeling a bit anxious too.

"Axel..." Tifa said his name quietly.

Demyx was looking quite at home on the stage despite his usual nerves and Lightning made no expression whatsoever towards the crowd. The last member to go up the stage was Yuffie, who was waving her hands.

_No blue-haired girl_. I tried looking at the back of the stage but it was too dark to see.

The band members nodded to each other and the lights went out.

Some of the kids screamed out of shock while others cheered louder, as if figuring out this was part of their show. A single light came back on after that, and a new figure had taken the main spot in front of the other band members.

The spotlight focused on her. She had her backs turned to all of us as she held a single arm up into the sky.

Her right hand holding the microphone, she slowly raised it to her mouth.

"...Let's do this people..." She muttered.

Before we knew what hit us the lights immediately flashed on again and the band had started their song. Their music blasted across the hall, and into the neighbourhood I might add.

"It's her! Snow! _That's the girl!_" I said excitedly as I stared at the blue-haired vocalist.

I knew I was right, I just _knew _it. My heart was telling me that I'm right.

But as I looked at her it turned into a stare. _She was gorgeous! _

Her wild, blue hair matched her blue eyes perfectly. She had an exceptionally nice figure and her thighs were...whoa, I'm gonna sound like a dirty old pervert if I continue...

Her face was a beauty unlike anything I've ever seen. It was tensed though, but she looked really awesome. She had the same outfit as her female companions, the only difference is that she was wearing a sleeveless vest and her shirt was unbuttoned at the top, showing her bra's black laces. Her tie too was loose and her mini-skirt looked as if they were ripped. The effects on all the males were apparent as they gulped and some looked like they were spellbound.

_She lives in a fairy tale_

_Somewhere too far for us to find_

_Forgotten the taste and smell_

_Of the world that she's left behind_

I know this song! Paramore!

_It's all about the exposure the lens I told her_

_The angles were all wrong now_

_She's ripping wings off of butterflies_

_Keep your feet on the ground_

_When your head's in the clouds_

Her expression became tenser, and her voice grew louder.

_Well go get your shovel_

_And we'll dig a deep hole_

_To bury the castle, bury the castle_

_Go get you shovel_

_And we'll dig a deep hole_

_To bury the castle, bury the castle_

She snapped her fingers and the other band members muted their instruments.

_Ba da ba ba da ba ba ha_

And they continued their playing again.

_So one day he found her crying_

_Coiled up on the dirty ground_

_Her prince finally came to save her_

_And the rest you can figure out_

_But it was a trick_

_And the clock struck twelve_

_Well make sure to build your home brick by boring brick_

_Or the wolf's gonna blow it down_

_Keep your feet on the ground_

_When your head's in the clouds_

_Well go get your shovel_

_And we'll dig a deep hole_

_To bury the castle, bury the castle_

_Go get your shovel_

_And we'll dig a deep hole_

_To bury the castle, bury the castle_

"Sorry! Coming through! Sorry!" I pushed past the other kids to get to the front row.

_Well you built up a world of magic_

_Because your real life is tragic_

_Yeah you built up a world of magic_

This time she gave us a pained look. The lights dimmed again and a single spotlight was on her now. She was walking slowly to the front and walked down the stage stairs.

_If it's not real_

_You can't hold it in your hands_

_You can't feel it with your heart_

_And I won't believe it_

_But if it's true_

_You can see it with your eyes_

_Oh, even in the dark_

_And that's where I want to be, yeah_

Her eyes were locked onto mine for a second. That intense, flaring gaze burned into mine as I felt we shared a connection for that one moment. Then she looked away and got up to the stage again.

_Go get your shovel_

_We'll dig a deep hole_

_To bury the castle, bury the castle_

_Go get your shovel_

_And we'll dig a deep hole_

_To bury the castle, bury the castle_

She had dropped the microphone onto the floor and gave us that same intense look. Axel had gone to the front this time, and raised his hands for the upcoming battle cry. The crowd heeded and began chanting;

_Ba da ba ba da ba ba da_

_Ba da ba ba ba da ba ba_

_Ba da ba ba da ba ba da_

_Ba da ba ba ba ba ba ba_

The mysterious vocalist had joined in too, without her microphone her voice blended in with the crowd and her band members.

_Ba da ba ba da ba ba da_

_Ba da ba ba ba da ba ba_

_Ba da ba ba da ba ba da_

_Ba da ba ba ba ba ba ba!_

She was panting heavily and her hair was in a mess, but it made her look hotter. Her chest was heaving up and down as she gasped for air. Axel had roared with joy and was hugging her joyfully. The other band members followed suit, and for some reason had covered her as they brought her backstage.

The crowd roared in displeasure as they wanted to see more of the mysterious singer. I joined in too, I mean; "Encore! Encore!" We chanted together.

However, Mr. Auron had gone to the front of the stage and held his hand up. The crowd instantly grew quiet. Not a single sound was heard.

"I understand that you kids...particularly boys..." The girls gave an 'hmph!' "...are excited from that last show however it is already late and I expect us to be done with this by midnight so..." He looked at Garnet, who had prompted to take the microphone from him.

"Yes well...The votes are in people! I mean, you guys do know that we're using a voting system to decide the winner right?" Garnet held the card in front of her and; "Well no surprises here! The winners are the _Angel Wings!_" Her words were drowned by an ear-splitting cheer by the crowd.

It was obvious all the boys wanted to see that girl again, even me.

However, instead of the band members coming up the stage, Mr. Auron had took the trophy in their stead, saying that he will give it to them later as all of them had retreated to their clubroom (wherever that is, none of us had any idea).

The crowd booed but were quick to desist as Mr. Auron gave them a sharp look.

Garnet gave the closing speech and finally, the Battle of the Bands had ended.

I made my way back to Snow and Tifa, who were waiting for me at the exit. Tifa was scowling at me for some reason while Snow was grinning broadly at me.

"_What-were-you-doing-just-now_?" Tifa pursed her lips as I shrugged.

Snow nudged me in the shoulders and asked me "So, what'd you think?"

I gave him a smile and he understood me. _I have to find that girl_.

* * *

_Aqua_

_

* * *

_

OH MY GOD

I had just performed, live, in front of the whole school, just-like-that!

I was sitting alone in the hallway of the backstage. The others were celebrating inside the clubroom but I had made my way back to the school hall unconsciously.

"I had really enjoyed that..." I muttered to myself. Really, it has been a long time since people looked at me that way... I shuddered as I was reminded how perverted boys really are at their age. _Hormones,_ pfft.

The lights were already out except for the dim hallway lights. I looked past the curtains and onto the empty hall. I smiled a little bit as I remembered their cheers.

_Oh well, _time to head back...As I turned around suddenly a boy appeared from the door I had used to enter just now.

I was alarmed and quickly turned around but the boy shouted "Wait!"

I stopped in my tracks, my heart beating rather fast now. _Oh my God! Someone's here!_

I tried to stay in the shadows as I didn't want him to see my face. I turned around cautiously, and looked at him.

My mouth fell slightly as I recognized the figure; _Terra!_

It was definitely the Herculean boy as no one else in school has muscles like those.

I was puzzled but I kept my mouth shut.

He was shifting nervously in front of me, and was ruffling his hair as if trying to tame the unruly spiky hair of his.

"You uhh...Sang really well just now..." He began. I stayed quiet and observed him.

"Y'see, well...It wasn't the first time I hear you sing..." He went closer as he spoke.

I gave him a frown as I registered what he had said. _This wasn't the first time I sang?_

"I uhh...Heard you singing in the archery clubroom the other day..." He ruffled his hair nervously.

I gave myself a mental slap as I remembered singing that Cinderella song. _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

"...And I couldn't get you off my mind after that y'know? It's like I was under a spell or something..." He laughed a bit.

I raised my eyebrows at him. Wait...Is he doing what I think he's doing?

"I really wanted to see you again and well..." His voice trailed off as he was a few feet away from me now.

No way, is he _confessing _to me?

"I-I'm sorry!" My instincts kicked in and I bowed deeply to him. I turned around and quickly fled the scene.

"W-Wait! At least tell me your name!" Terra ran after me.

I knew I couldn't outrun a jock but I used the darkness to my advantage as I slip quietly to the stage and ran to the school hall's exit.

"H-hey, wait up!" I heard Terra's voice from the stage.

I gave a squeak and stumbled to the floor painfully. _Ouch..._ I quickly got back to my feet and scrambled out of there.

I found an empty classroom and hid inside there. I leaned against the door and buried my face into my lap. _I can't believe the school's most popular guy just confessed to me! _

That'll be the headline for my status update in Facebook... I smiled a little from my joke.

Calming myself down, I instinctively rummaged through my pocket for my brooch. I dug deeper and felt something was wrong.

I frowned and searched both my pockets, and then emptied my vest pockets too. _My brooch! It's gone! _I panicked and searched my whole body.

I searched again but couldn't find it. Defeated, I slumped my shoulders and tried my best to stay calm. That brooch was very important to me...a precious gift from an old flame...a reminder that I should get stronger...

It had been a wild and splendid day but...now it's all ruined...

I bit my lips as I sobbed and teardrops escaped me.

"Zack..." I whimpered his name softly, crying inside the empty classroom.

* * *

Attention! I need you guys' help this time! If you guys are following my story pls give me a review and tell me this important A!: Who do you wanna see Aqua in a romantic relationship with? I've put in some hints for several of the available bachelors (Axel, Terra, etc.) But I think I can get a better story plot with your help! So pls! Help me by reviewing or sending me a mail in my inbox! Ya-haw!


	4. CHAPTER IV: Maniac On The Loose Part 1

Ya-haw! We-ell I've finally managed to update up till' chappy 4! (which is quite an accomplishment mind you!). I'm not really a fan of dramatic storylines but alas, I'm kinda' using it for this chappy! Thx for the suggestions! (Be it in ure review or msges I thank you soooo much!) For the first time in my life I'm writing a 2-parter for this chappy, cuz I'm gonna be introducing and explaining the jocks' Captains soon! And their role too, before I forget!

Special honors for - **Lightning Farron **(thanks for the heads up on my grammar mistakes!)**, Aqua StormXIV** (I enjoy our chats :p), **UltraWonderBoy **(you're one of my fav. readers! Thx 4 making ureself known to me yay!), **Hoshikuzu Yume **(Hoping to get more reviews from u!), **Luxuria De'Voire **(My BIGGEST supporter! thaaaank yooouu sooo much for sticking with me all this while!), **dikemon **(Aww, thanks for your sweet comments!), **queenofspades19 **(new reviewer! yay! I agree with ya when u say Terra deserves a happy ending!) and last but not least - **Texika The Wanderer of Fate **(Yea a lot of ppl will agree with your pairing choice ^^) ~

~ R&R are always appreciated and needed! (They always motivate me in a good, positive way :) ) Be it a good compliment or hate-mails, I enjoy getting them all the same!Without further ado ladies & gents- the 4th chappy! Ya-haw!

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CHAPTER IV: Maniac On The Loose (Part 1)

The Battle of the Bands had been a huge success! The Angel Wings had won our very first school trophy (which Mr. Auron had proudly place in the clubroom's display case). Our club had gained some popularity from the masses and even gained some respect from the jocks (prolly' cuz' they sucked that night). But the story of the Outcasts winning against the jocks couldn't even be compared with the school's latest, hottest gossip; _Who was the mysterious singer?_

Gossips spread like wildfire as the whole student body tried to uncover the identity of the blue-haired girl. Some even dared to ask a few of the known Outcasts (like Demyx and Yuffie) but they all kept their mouth shut.

Axel had warned everybody not to reveal my identity to anybody else.

"She's our secret weapon. We can use her again in upcoming competitions." He said as he patted my head the way he'd pet a cat or a dog.

I gave the redhead a glare as I wiped my spectacles (thankfully Fang had decided to give them back).

"Don't treat me like a toy." I stomped on his foot as he laughed in response.

"Well, the Battle of the Bands' the only major competition we got so far so you can relax for now Aqua." He gave me a smirk.

However, I raised my eyebrows at a certain word he had spoken. "Hey...You said my name!" I mean, he usually called me 'newbie' or something!

Axel stared at me for a while before he registered what I just said. "Oh...I mean, yeah...I can't call you newbie forever now can I?" He shrugged.

I gave the tall redhead a smile. At least he had accepted me. "True, I guess..." I hummed as I turned around, leaving him with a puzzled look on his face.

Last night had been a disaster for me. I've lost my treasured brooch and I bawled inside a classroom all by myself. To make things worse, Axel had found me in the middle of my misery as he said he heard some sort of animal wailing here.

He had asked me what was wrong but I merely shook my head and buried my face in my knees, hiding my teary face.

To my surprise he had sat down and wrapped his hand around me. I looked at his face quizzically as he took out a cigarette and lit it up with his free hand.

I coughed from the poisonous smog and frowned at him but he merely grinned and stayed quiet. He didn't pursue his question as he ruffled my hair gently. I found it comforting as I stopped sobbing. The tears were still streaming down my face but I was smiling by the end of the night.

I don't know why but his presence had made my worries disappear.

_It'll show up, one way or another._

"But wow, I didn't know you were a good singer Aqua!" Hope complimented me. The silvery-haired boy was playing around with a boomerang he had found in the clubroom. He threw the boomerang into the air and it circled the room, finally hitting Cloud square on the face.

"I-I'm sorry Cloud! W-Won't do it again! _Help!_" Hope begged for mercy as Cloud had put him in a headlock (Yuffie had joined in, tickling his belly).

As we laughed at the comedic scene between the three people (This time Cloud had pulled off a Figure-Four Leg Lock while Yuffie had settled herself on top of Hope, jumping up and down), a knock came from the door.

Alarmed, I quickly wore my hat and glasses back. A boy entered the room (his head was anyways) and looked around.

"Umm, is this the Angel Wings Club?" He asked uncertainly.

Axel gave him a grin. "Yup, who's asking?"

The boy opened the door and went straight towards me. I raised my eyebrows as he uncannily resembled someone in this room.

"Uhh...Ven! Are you two _related_?" I looked at the newcomer and then to Ven. Aside from their hair colour (Ven's was darker), these two looked like twins!

Everyone was surprised, I could tell, except for Axel and Lightning.

"Roxas!" Ven gave a huge grin and jumped onto him. They rolled on the ground as if they were in a scuffle. Finally they crashed into a desk and they stopped rolling. Both of them were laughing and punching each other lightly.

"You guys _are _related." I sighed and rolled my eyes.

Axel puts his hand on my shoulder. "Aqua, meet Roxas. He's Ven's twin brother." He introduced the still grinning boy.

_Roxas_. I've heard that name before...I thought carefully for awhile, then I heard a small gasp from the sofa.

Naminé, who had been silent all this time, had dropped her sketchbook as she noticed Roxas. She quickly got up and hid behind me.

"Naminé what's wrong?" I remembered now. Roxas was the boy Naminé had spoken to that got her beat up and ridiculed.

The blonde girl buried her face behind me, shaking her head.

Roxas had stood up, ruffling his hair and looking at Naminé nervously. His eyes darted from his shoes to the still hiding blonde girl.

_Oh I see what's going on here_. I gave Axel a wink and he understood my plan. With an evil smirk he sneaked behind Roxas and pushed him hard. I side-stepped and left the shy girl defenceless. With a squeak, she shielded herself as she thought Roxas would crash into her.

He did, but rather softly as he had made a spin to lessen his body's velocity. It turned out to be more of a graceful ballet spin and ended with a hug as Roxas had wrapped his hands around Naminé.

Roxas lets go of her immediately, blushing furiously. Naminé was also blushing as she twirled a strand of her hair nervously.

"H-Hey..." Roxas finally got the courage to speak up.

"H-Hey..." She repeated, looking at her feet.

_Aww_, I thought they looked cute together, what with the awkwardness and their shyness over each other.

However Yuffie had ruined the moment with a snort. The two snapped back into reality and looked away from each other, still blushing.

"We don't need another Demyx and Olette." She said boringly as I gave her a death glare.

"So what brings you here spiky?" Fang asked Roxas. She was lying comfortably on top of a hammock above us (Axel had 'borrowed' it from the Recreational Club) which had been nailed to the ceiling.

They boy didn't answer right away. He ruffled his hair nervously and then he suddenly kneeled on all fours in front of me.

"Please let me join your club!" He begged, his face kissing the floor.

I was a little surprised at first. I hastily pulled him up again, uncomfortable with his reaction.

"Y-You don't have to beg! I mean..." I looked at the others for help. Naminé was staring at me anxiously while Axel gave me a 'Do anything you want' look.

"I'll do anything! I'll sweep the clubroom everyday! I'll do your homework! I'll even wipe your feet if-" I waved my hand furiously in front of him to cut him off.

"I get it! You don't have to do all that!" I said quickly. _It's like I'm dealing with Ven here..._

"Now, now. The 'do your homework' part sounds good to me." Fang said with an evil smile, eyeing Roxas interestedly.

I gave the girl a frown and looked back at the blonde boy in front of me. "Can I at least know your reason for wanting to join us? And how'd you _find _us anyway?"

He looked nervous again, his eyes darting to Naminé. "Uhh...I wanted to talk to Naminé more..." He said with a nervous grin.

However, to my surprise Naminé made an 'hmph!' sound and crossed her arms, turning away as she did so. _What kind of reaction is that? You should be excited!_

Roxas slumps his shoulders but he quickly regained his vigour back. "And Ven told me about this place." He finished.

At his words Axel placed a hand on Ven's shoulder. "Right, I'm gonna have a lil' talk with Ven here about the meaning of _secret hideout_." Ven gulped as he was led outside by Axel.

I shook my head at them and turned back to Roxas. He was looking at me anxiously (like an excited puppy, aww).

"Well...since you're Ven's twin I don't think you're a bad person so...You're in." I gave him a warm smile as his face brightened up.

Behind me Naminé had resumed her usual position on the sofa and had continued with her sketching. However, I could've sworn I saw a small smile plastered on her pale face for a moment.

Outside, I could hear Ven crying for help as Axel was surely strangling him (or something much worse) as punishment.

"_No more loose lips Ven~ Okay?~" _Axel's voice was dangerously sweet, which was unlike him.

"_G-Got it._" Ven squeaked. Poor guy...

The wrestling match inside of the club still hasn't ended, making the club meeting even more chaotic.

"G-Give up! _I give up_!" Hope hit the floor with his hand repeatedly. Yuffie appeared in front of him and raised Cloud's arm into the air like a referee would announce the winner of a wrestling match as Hope lay helplessly on the floor.

* * *

_Aqua_

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_

After our little meeting everyone had left to go home except for Roxas, who had been waiting for a chance to speak to Naminé. So being the usual wise, know-it-all leader, I left them to their own devices (Naminé had given me a pleading look to take her with me but I left her anyways).

Walking alone at school felt weird as I was used to having either Axel or any of the other members around. As I walked across the hallway the other students whispered among themselves and pointed openly towards my hat.

_Crap, did they notice my hair colour? _However the whispers died down fairly quickly as they snorted and laughed.

Gee, _thanks_. I thought miserably. I guess nobody would even suspect I was the singer last night. I mean, look at me!

I looked down on my miserable giant uniform. I had wanted to change into a smaller size but the school's store had run out of my size. The dear old lady who tended the store said it'll come in a few months as they had to import them from Twilight Town (which was miles away!).

To top it all off, I have to look for a job to earn some munny. I'm kinda low on funds... _Since dear old daddy decided to freeze my bank account..._

"Guys! Check out whose back!" Some kids shouted.

"What?" I quickly turned around, searching for the source of the noises. Something was happening at the school gates as students had ran towards that direction excitedly.

Curious, I walked quickly to the gates. The kids were crowding the area and blocked my view of seeing anything at all. I jumped a few times but...they're all so tall!

"Aqua! Here!" I heard a voice calling my name. It was Garnet.

The brunette was waving her hand happily and signalled for me to come closer.

"Garnet, what's all the racket about?" I shouted as the noise was too loud.

Garnet Til Alexandros, Destiny High's very own royalty. She is the daughter of the ruler of a kingdom called Alexandria. She had enrolled in this school during freshmen years from Alexandria Middle School. Axel said that she was very reserved during that time and had been teased a lot (Kuja had despised her hair). She had changed a lot though, thanks to a certain Zidane Tribal. She became more open-minded, outgoing and cheerful. Now she's part of the Drama Club and emcee for any and every events that the school holds.

Oh, here's the part where I tell how I know Garnet! Her father and my father were friends of sort. I befriended her during the time I visited her castle. She was very refined and royalty-like, but was kind and generous at the same time. I can't believe my luck when I recognized her to be the girl who was sitting in front of me in class! (She had been absent on my first day, down with a fever).

"Mr. Jecht and Riku's back!" She said excitedly.

However, seeing the puzzled look on my face Garnet merely smiled and pulled me into the crowd. We managed to get to the front of the crowd after Garnet had stomped, pinched, and even bit the people who were obstructing our way.

The source of the racket was two people.

"That one's Mr. Jecht." Garnet pointed to the oldest person of the two. He was an adult with long, unruly black hair. I stared at him in amazement as he wasn't wearing any shirt to cover his body, showing his well-toned muscles and abs (he's probably even buffer than Terra!). He had some kind of broad cloth wrapped around his lower body and wore three-quarter pants.

"Aaannnddd _that _one's Riku!" She pointed to the other one. He was a boy around my age with shoulder-length silver hair. He was wearing our school uniform (though they were thorn and ragged). His bangs covered his ocean blue eyes as he stared around, taking in the scenery uninterestedly.

The ruckus was made by Mr. Jecht, who was laughing and high-fiving the kids who had came to greet them. Riku however, merely stayed quiet.

"What's so special about those two?" I pointed at Riku.

"They're quite popular with the kids. Mr. Jecht is one of the physical education teachers and sort of like a 'Dare' planner for the school. He always plans cool events like 'The Ghost Hunt at school' and the 'King of the Hill' sort of games. But that's not all, back in his younger days he was a blitzball legend! His name got into the Hall of Fames as the Best Player of the Century!" Garnet explained excitedly.

"So he's..." I made circular motions with my hand, a sign for her to continue explaining as I had no idea what made him so popular.

Garnet let out a sigh. "Seriously Aqua, you gotta keep up with the times! Mr. Jecht practically never comes to school cuz' he's always busy doing dangerous stuffs. Rumours say that he's slaying monsters up north during the school holidays."

Monsters? They exist? I frowned at her but she merely shrugs. "That's what _they _say anyway. And Riku...well I don't have to explain that to you." Garnet said knowingly as she pointed at a large group of girls crowding the silvery-haired boy.

"So where are they back from?" I remembered someone said they're back from something...

"Only God knows what they're up to." Garnet said sagely.

What the heck does she mean by that? I continued to frown as the crowd wasn't letting up. I wanna get out of school...

"I can tell that you're an outcast..." A quiet voice spoke in my ear.

I gave a startled yelp as I turned to see that it was Riku who had spoke to me. How'd he sneak up on me like that? One minute he was in front of those girls and the next...

"Y-Yeah, so what?" I said defensively.

Riku smiled broadly, which made Garnet and the other girls gasp (What's the big deal anyway?).

"Thought so. My name's Riku. Yours?" He was still smiling, for reasons unknown.

"Aqua." I said simply. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to leave now." I bowed a little to him and bid Garnet farewell.

To my dismay however, the silvery-haired boy had taken in his stride to _follow _me. I decided to let him do whatever he wants (hey it's a free country isn't it?) as I headed towards the town. He, however, seems to have suddenly found his voice, as he asked me a bunch of random stuffs (it reached the point where I wished there was a zipper on this guy's mouth!).

"So you're really from Departure High?" He asked again, pretending to be interested in a magazine he's holding (which was upside-down, BTW).

"Yes." I said, for the umpteenth time.

We were in a cafe named 'Princesses of Light'. I was waiting for the owner of the cafe for an interview for an opening in the waitress' position. While waiting for him, I read the requirements for the job carefully.

_Minimum age of 16..._I'm gonna' be 17 in a few months..._have little or no experience..._ I totally got experience! (...I think...)..._young, vivacious & hot_...The owner _MUST _be a guy...

Riku stayed quiet throughout my interview (the guy actually sat next to me and listened in on the interview!) and I felt his stares on me the whole time.

The owner was actually a _woman _named Lulu. She and her husband Wakka were both the owners of the cafe and Wakka was ecstatic of having me to work here (which was good, if only Lulu wasn't looking at me like she wants to eat me..._gulp*_).

"So you can start working tomorrow ya'?" Wakka said with a smile.

I was elated to hear I can start so soon! It means I can earn munny earlier! Yay!

I was about to say yes when Lulu opened her mouth. "Hmm, deary...can you see without your glasses?"

My heart sank at her words. I know what she's gonna' ask me to do...

"Y-Yes, a lil' bit." I answered truthfully. Hey, I've always been a bad liar alright!

"Then...Sorry I don't mean to offend you or anything, but could you take those glasses of while working? I'm afraid it will...scare the customers off if you wear them." Lulu tried to convey her words delicately.

I knew it. Truth be told I didn't want to be apart from this glasses, I felt naked without them. But I reeeaaalllyyy need the munny, guess I don't have any choice.

"S-Sure, no problem." I answered unsurely.

Lulu gave me a satisfied smile and handed me the registration form. I wrote down my details and handed it back.

"That should do it. We'll see you tomorrow at 4 ya'?" Wakka offered me a handshake and I accepted it. He really is nice, even with the weird accent.

I looked at the clock to see that it was still early to return to the dorm so I decided to leave the cafe (bidding Wakka and Lulu goodbye, of course) and check out the beach.

"We're going somewhere?" Riku spoke up.

I jumped a bit and wheeled around to see the silvery-haired boy was _still _following me. What is his problem?

"Alright, see here." I stopped in the middle of the road and put my hands on my hips. "Why are you following me?" Is he harassing me or something?

Riku made a non-committal shrug. "I just find you interesting, and you have pretty eyes by the way." He said, without a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

I was caught off-guard by his comment. "Wha- I- Well-" I became flustered and I'm pretty sure my face was as red as a tomato by now. Just then, a gust of strong wind blew in our direction and my hat flew off.

"H-Hey! Come back!" I ran after it. No way, no way, no way! That hat was a gift from my granddad! (What? You guys think I'll buy something like that on my own accord?)

Something rushed by me and I saw a flash of grey jumping onto a hotdog stand, then onto a flag pole, and then into mid-air where he caught my hat and landed with inhuman acrobatic abilities. All that process happened in only a few seconds.

_Oh-My-God. _I stared with my mouth half-opened at the grinning boy as he twirled my hat around his fingers.

"Here you go." He handed my hat back to me, but not before studying my hair.

I snatched it from his hands and quickly put it on back, muttering a quick "Thank you" while trying to hide my blush.

"You have nice hair too." Riku complimented me, _again_.

"T-Thanks..." I muttered. He was shuffling his feet and grinning satisfactorily from my show of gratitude.

"No problem. So where're you heading?" He asked again, his hands behind his head.

It took me awhile to realize that this boy might actually have an _interest _in me. I may look like a nerd but I actually have many experiences during my time in Departure High with boys.

_The way they move their arms, their facial expressions, the way they keep kicking at thin air. _Yup, this boy is showing all the above mentioned signs. Back then Yuffie would always call me thick-headed and oblivious to my surrounding but that's not it. I _chose _to ignore them, that's all.

I let out a sigh and relented. I suppose there's no harm with him accompanying me today.

"The beach. I've seen it many times when I walk from school but I wanted to actually _feel _the seawater with my feet and walk down that sandy beach!" I said, a little too excited perhaps, for Riku broke into a 'you're so cute when you do that' look.

"Then let's go." He wheeled around and led the way.

The trip was quite enjoyable once I got used to Riku. He wasn't the hyperactive type (like most of the guys in the club) and could actually be quite sweet. He bought me a balloon and cotton candy (I rolled my eyes at the balloon though) while making sure I could keep up with his pace.

"Wow! We're here!" I ran towards the open sea and practically jumped into the water (only my feet of course). "_Aaahhh_, the water's great." I sighed heavenly as the waves hit my legs softly.

Riku gave a small chuckle and sat underneath a tree. "Take your time." He cushioned his head with his arms and closed his eyes.

"Okay." I replied happily. I don't know why but I always had a strange affinity with water. They calm me and sometimes it's as if I could hear them talking in my ears, filling in the empty gaps of my heart (crazy I know, but hey, I'm a GIRL!).

Riku waited for me patiently as I soaked my feet in the sea. I looked at him and saw him dozing off peacefully. That gave me an idea. I looked left and right and after making sure that nobody was around, I took off my hat, glasses and vest (it was really hot!).

"_~Hm~Hm~Hm~_" I hummed peacefully as I splashed some seawater on my face. Bad idea. Salt, apparently, are able to slip into your eyes and sting like hell!

"Ow-Ow-Ow!" I cried painfully and rubbed my eyes. Stupid salts...How come Ariel can open her eyes under the sea and I can't even splash some water on my face?

"_Hey!_"

I froze as I heard a familiar voice calling out. I gulped involuntarily as I turned around and stifled a gasp. Why does he always have to be around when I took off my glasses?

Terra was waving at me happily (and excitedly too I might add). Before he could say (or do) anything else, I quickly made my way onto dry land and ran away as fast as I can.

"_Hey wait up! Ugh, not again!_" Terra groaned and I could hear his heavy feet chasing after me.

Run Run Run! My heart was beating like mad but I know I can't stop now. If Terra caught me then my secret would be exposed to the whole school; not to mention that Axel would skin me alive!

I heard a loud 'thump!' and I risked my chances to take a look behind. Terra had tripped over the sleeping Riku and left the two of them sprawling on the sand.

"Sorry!" I yelled out of habit.

"C'mon! At least gimme' a chance to _talk _with you!" Terra made to stand up again but his pants was pulled by a glaring Riku.

I left the beach and went around to the side of the stairs to the dorm. After I made sure the coast is clear I couldn't help it; I practically rolled over on the stairs giggling.

The look on Terra's face when he saw me running away from him and Riku, well, he made a pained face when Terra fell on top of his guts. And what's up with Terra's boxers? _Polka dots and little hearts_?

"That was fun, gotta tell the guys about this." I smiled to myself and walked up the stairs, where a haughty-looking Naminé was waiting for me.

* * *

_Terra_

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_

"Day Two of my search for the melodious bluebird. I've sighted the target yesterday in the evening around the beach perimeters while playing in the water. So what's your status Big Bear? Over." I made a static sound and handed the walkie-talkie to Snow.

"Black Hawk this is Big Bear. Yesterday's search was fruitful as we found some new useful leads on the bluebird. Over." Snow made the same static sound and passed the walkie-talkie back to me.

"Really? What'd you got Big Bear? Over." I passed it back to Snow.

"It seems like the bluebird was seen in the Princesses of Light cafe applying for a job there yesterday. My source (a certain little sister of one of the Outcasts club members) told me that she'll start working today. Over." Before Snow could pass me the walkie-talkie back, TIfa hit us both on the back of our heads.

"What are you idiots doing?" She rolled her eyes and sat beside Snow. She placed her tray of food on the cafeteria table and began eating at top speed.

"I'm the idiot...You're the one looking like an idiot right now..." Snow muttered darkly while rubbing his head.

"Whatever. So Terra, I heard you still haven't given up on finding that, whatcha' call her? Oh yeah, _'love of your life_' yet." Tifa stressed her voice on the 'love of your life' part while munching on her beef jerky.

"I don't like being insulted by a girl with a half-eaten beef jerky hanging from her mouth." I rolled my eyes. "By the way, Cloud saw that." I pointed towards the Outcasts zone.

Tifa grew bright red and quickly looked around. Cloud and his other friends were laughing over a joke Yuffie had made. Tifa turned back, glaring at me.

"Ha Ha, very funny." She grumpily wiped her mouth and drank her soup.

"I don't get it. If you like the guy so much why don't you just say it to em'?" Snow gave a tired look. He knew about Tifa's crush on Cloud ever since he caught her watching the blonde-haired with much affection in her eyes during a certain memorable lunchtime.

"Because it's not that easy, and I think he likes somebody else." Tifa said in a disgruntled voice, her gaze back at Cloud and then to the brown-haired girl next to him.

Snow shook his head and leaned back on the chair. "Whatever. If it was me I'd gone straight to the girl that I like and confess to her." He said matter-of-factly.

"_Yes _Snow, and look where _that _got you! Apparently you didn't think of the chances that the girl has an older sister with anger issues and the ability to kill you in your sleep! Now you have to look behind your back every time you kiss Serah. Really swell plan Snow." Tifa said sarcastically. I snorted into my drink as Snow gave a pained look, accepting the cold, hard truth.

Ignoring the two, I rummaged through my pocket and took out an aquamarine brooch I found the other day.

Tifa noticed it, and let out a soft squeal of admiration. "Oooh, that's so pretty! Wait, don't tell me it's yours Terra cuz' it'll be _sooo _wrong and..."

"No it's not mine." I waved irritably. "It belonged to the blue-haired girl. I found it in the school hall the other night. Y'know? After the concert?"

Truth be told I had wanted to return it back to her, but she kept giving me a hard time to do so. I've searched every class possible for any sign of a girl that might look like her (blue hair, blue eyes, and totally hot) but it was just impossible, considering the number of students in this school.

I caught sight of her yesterday at the beach. I had no idea what she was doing there but what a stroke of luck! There she was playing in the water and smiling like a goddess...But she got away from...I mean, _ran away_ from me as soon as I called for her...maybe I should do a sneak-attack next time...

Just then, two of the sophomores from the basketball team came up to our table and looked at us nervously.

"Hey guys, sup'?" I greeted with a friendly tone. But somehow, they still cower back as if I was shouting at them. I am NOT a tyrant! But I guess I am kinda' intimidating...Cool...

"Um, Mr. Xemnas wanted us to pass you and Snow a message. H-Here." One of them passed me a note with Xemnas' seal on it.

The two hurriedly move away from us as I read the note. The only times this guy ever passed us any notes is when a disaster had befallen that could affect _his _position or dignity. The guy's pretty self-centred.

After I read the note I groaned and passed it to Snow. On cue, he too groaned and face-palmed himself.

"What's wrong?" Tifa made an interested look, her eyes darting from me then to Snow.

"Vanitas is missing again." I scratched my head indifferently.

"Yup, you know what that means." Snow crumpled the note and threw it onto the floor.

"Trouble." The three of them spoke in unison.

"Wasn't Xigbar supposed to look after him today?" I looked at the large man.

"You know how that guy always skips his job and all...but losing Vanitas now after the crap he did last year..." Snow shuddered at the thought.

Last year a bunch of juniors were beaten the hell out of them after one of them had made a snide comment on Vanitas' mask (he always wears them, what with his sport and all). It took Vanitas less than ten seconds to break that guy's arm. It wasn't just that though, Vanitas had been on the rampage frequently when he's not supervised. He's worse than Larxene, because at least she wouldn't hang her victim's body on the football field's goalpost.

In order to prevent him from doing any more harm to the student body, Mr. Xemnas had ordered the captains to supervise him and they were given a shifts chart to rotate each time. Most of them were either too lazy or too busy to do it so they had their respective club members (I mean lackey) to do the job for them.

"This is bad. Not only is Vanitas on the loose somewhere in the school, Mr. Xemnas had been _kind _enough to let us know that too." I shook my head.

"That only means there are already victims. We gotta' go round the school. _Now_. Usually I'd handle this alone but...It's _Vanitas_, so you guys know what I'm getting at here." Snow stood up and looked around the cafeteria, then; "To all jocks available in the cafeteria! Meet me outside _now_! We're looking for Club Captain Vanitas, so any able-bodied men, and girls, who are brave enough, come see me!"

Way to go Snow...What a way to let people know a maniac is loose in the school grounds...

A sense of panic filled the air as the sophomores and seniors discussed in fear of Vanitas' name. The juniors were all looking around, puzzled at their older schoolmates' reaction.

A few students stood up and followed Snow outside. Tifa and I followed suit. I tucked the brooch safely in my pocket.

So much for searching for my melodious bluebird...

* * *

_Axel_

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* * *

_

"So the lunatic's on the loose huh? Ho Ho, this is gonna' be a riot!" I chuckled evilly as I watched the other students' scared face.

"It's no laughing matter Axel." Lightning scolded me in a stern voice. "Ugh, I thought they were keeping watch on that guy!" She grimaced and walked around the tables with a distressed look.

"Not doing a good job, they aren't." I snorted. Let the guy destroy the school, good business for us then... (As in, more kids we can wrung up into our club).

"Um, Axel." Xion looked at me with a curious face. "Who is Vanitas? And why did the other kids become scared just by hearing his name?"

"Ahh Xion. Innocent, _naive_ Xion." I patted her head sympathetically. "Nah, I'll let Dem explain it for me." I passed the baton to Demyx, who was tuning his guitar beside Yuffie.

The guitarist gave a relaxed look and strummed his guitar. "The dude's a rebel." He grinned goofily. "_The Enigma of Ice Hockey._ Senior, and Club Captain of...you can guess what sport he plays by his nickname. Anyway the guy's like, really screwed in the head y'know? Sees everyone here like some livestock for him to slaughter. Back in the days (his junior year), I heard he nearly killed a senior by hitting the guy with a hockey stick."

"Shouldn't he be expelled then?" Xion said, horrified.

This time, Fang had taken in her stride to continue the tale. "He should've been in _jail _after that happened. But word got out that Xemnas was really impressed by the way he handled the hockey stick so he made the guy join the Ice Hockey team instead. Imagine being made Captain for smashing a guy's skull? Pretty gruesome huh?" She gave a chuckle at the junior's expression of horror.

"S-So is he, like, dangerous?" Hope dared to ask.

"Dangerous? The guy's a demon. Be it boy or girl, so long as you piss him off you're dead. But even if you didn't do anything wrong he'd still mutilate you." Cloud shrugged.

"He's a guy we need to avoid then. S-So how'd he look like?" Ven gulped.

At his words I gave them an evil smile. "Aaah, that's just it. _Nobody _has seen Vanitas' real face. He always wear a helmet (or a mask, I dunno') to conceal his face."

Out of nowhere I took out a flashlight and flashed it on my face (yeah it's bright outside, but in the Outcasts zone, it's dark and damp baby!). "It happened one fateful day, when the cleaning lady was doing her rounds in the boy's toilet at the third floor. It was there she had stumbled upon the man whilst he was washing his face. The poor soul could not believe what she saw, and she ran away as quick as her poor legs could carry her, screaming at what she had witnessed. After that event she grew ill instantly, and departed to the afterlife that very night. It is believed that if you ever saw Vanitas' face, then Death would be knocking on your door very, very...soon~"

"_I thought the cleaning lady died because she ate the tuna special during lunchtime?" _Aerith whispered to Cloud.

"_She did. Sssh, here's the best part." _Cloud made a shushing sound.

From behind the transfixed audience, Fang had yelled 'Boo!' and all of them screamed. Roxas had jumped onto Naminé's lap (which the girl dropped him like garbage as quickly as possible) and Xion had hugged Hope so tightly that the boy was turning purple. Ven had fainted.

I laughed and gave Fang a high-five.

"I got you guys good! Look at Ven!" The raven-haired girl chuckled and slapped her knees repeatedly.

"You guys should've seen your faces! That was classic! I love telling tales of that lunatic to freshies!" I bent over and wiped my tears. It was downright hilarious! Even Cloud and Aerith were trying hard to stifle their laughter.

"That wasn't funny..." Naminé muttered, still eyeing the beet red Roxas apprehensively.

"Yes it was." I snickered, and then turned around. "So what'd you think of my story Aq-"

I was expecting to see the blue-haired girl standing behind me, ready to scold me for teasing the kids. However, I didn't see her at all. Frowning, I looked around the area and found no trace of her at all.

"Where's Aqua?" I asked the others.

Most of them gave an 'I dunno' look but Yuffie piped up; "She told me she was gonna' check the swimming pool and then go to the chemistry lab to get her stuffs." She recounted.

The swimming pool was at the opposite side of the school from the chemistry lab. That's quite a distance.

"So basically...she's not here." I assumed she's not.

"Nope." Yuffie repeated cheerfully.

I sighed and face-palmed myself. "Let me repeat that _in detail_. Aqua's not with us...She could be anywhere in the school...She's alone...And a maniac is roaming around looking for fresh meat..."

My own eyes grew as wide as saucers as I realized what I just said. The others looked at me in horror.

"M-Maybe she won't come across Vanitas. I mean, what are the chances right?" Demyx said unconfidently.

We all knew that the chances _are _high that she'd stumble upon the raging maniac. All of us know of Aqua's tendency to get lost often and that she had some sort of neon sign behind her that lit up 'TROUBLE, COME HERE PLEASE'.

_It's like she's cursed with some sort of bad luck. Larxene, Terra, Riku, now this..._

"...We gotta' find her...Everybody get out there right now and go look for her...Form a group and LET'S GO!" I yelled and they scrambled into groups of threes.

_Stay calm, maybe Vanitas hasn't found her yet._ "Cloud, Aerith, Fang, you guys check the East Wing." I instructed the first group. All three of them nodded and left the cafeteria in a hurry.

"Yuffie, Demyx, Naminé, the South Wing. Check the swimming pool, there might be a chance she's still there." I directed to the second group and they too left.

"Hope, Roxas, you guys take the West Wing. Avoid any contact with guys wearing any form of masks, got it? And wake that moron up." I rolled my eyes at the still fainted Ven. "Take him with you." The boys nodded and shuffled out of there (They dragged the fainted Ven by his legs).

I looked at Lightning and Xion. "You guys come with me. We'll be going to the North Wing to check the chemistry lab. On the way could you text your sister to ask for Kairi's help?" Lightning gave a nod and took out her cell phone, jabbing her fingers furiously on the keypad.

"Let's go guys. Code Red!" I smoothed my hair to the back and marched out.

_Dammit! Aqua!_

* * *

_Aqua_

_

* * *

_

Wow! The swimming pool is really awesome! It was the size of any Olympic pool and they even have waterfalls and river-like slides here! And-and a really pretty statue of a woman spouting water from her mouth at the side of the pool too!

I had wanted to check the pool out since forever but I couldn't find it somehow (truthfully I got lost). I sat at the corner of the pool and put my hand in the water. It was quite warm, guess it's because of the weather outside.

Quite suddenly, I felt the hairs at the back of my neck stood up. I felt a chill and quickly turned around, alarmed by sudden senses tingling through my body.

_Something's not right..._ A hand suddenly grabbed my shoulder.

"Well hello there sweetum', what might you be doing out here?" It was one of the students of Destiny High.

"N-Nothing. I was just checking the swimming pool." I pushed his hand away as I stared at his face.

He was tall and gangly, with his hair tied into a ponytail. He wore an eyepatch over his right eye with long scars over it.

"Best you run along now kiddo', it ain't safe to be out here today." His voice didn't sound threatening; more like an advice.

I noticed he was holding a crossbow in his other hand, which made me gulp involuntarily. He noticed my eyes were watching his weapon with much apprehension, and that made him smile a bit.

"No worries, I'm not gonna' shoot you sweetum'." He let out a hoarse chuckle.

"Then _who _are you going to shoot then?" I frowned at the one-eyed man.

He made a non-commital shrug and looked around. "Say...You wouldn't happen to have run across a weirdo with a black helmet on his head now would you?"

"_Sorry_?" I begged his pardon; I have NO IDEA what he just said.

For a moment he looked relief, and then turned back to his usual mysterious demeanour. "Then you haven't. Good. Bad enough I have to untie those kids from the flagpole this morning..." He muttered under his breath.

This guy is really weird. Maybe he escaped from a mental hospital and stole our school uniform and pretended to be one of our students. Maybe I should report him to Principal Ansem. MAYBE I should run away now!

His next words snapped me back into reality. "Ahh, I beg your forgiveness. Where are my manners?" He bowed slightly in a gentlemanly manner. "My name is Xigbar, the Archery Club's _Freeshooter._"

He pointed to his left collar, where a gleaming _purple hawk_ of a pin is etched.

I distanced myself from the guy as I far as I can. This guy's a jock!

"You...You're one of them! You're a jock!" I sorta', kinda' yelled at the guy out of dreariness. I am not in the mood to get into another jock's black book...

Xigbar had his eye (well he only has one eye anyways) on me with a mixture of interest and curiosity.

"You must be an Outcast then, judging from your reaction." He grinned when my face tensed.

"Yeah? So what's it to ya' huh?" I tried to sound intimidating, like how Axel usually sounded.

"Now, now, let's not get hasty. Boy, I don't wanna pick a fight with one of Axel's boys, sorry, _girl_s._" _He added the last part a bit too sarcastically for my taste.

"You know Axel?" Now I was interested. Just how many of the jocks black books did Axel manage to get into?

Again, he gave me a non-committal shrug of an answer. "We're..._acquaintances_. Can't say I'm in love with the guy but let's just say that we don't try to kill each other like how he and Terra would."

_Terra_... He really is popular with the whole school huh? I remembered many occasions where he tried looking for me (even as to put a reward for anyone who had any information on me). It would be a huge shock to the whole school if they found out that the school's biggest star is head over heels for the school's biggest nerd...

Then, a sudden sound of glass breaking was heard coming from the second floor. Before I knew it Xigbar had ran forward and protected me from the broken glass shards. He used his whole body to shield me from harm; something unexpected.

Before I could ask about his condition something else fell down and into the pool. I turned my head and gaped.

_A-A body! _There's a body floating in the water! My body went numb as I saw the clear water surrounding the body turned crimson red. _B-Blood! _

"I-Is he dead?" my voice was shaking as I asked the _Freeshooter_ (catchy nickname, but now's not the time!).

"Can't say for sure..." He muttered, staring at the broken window on the second floor.

Without warning, a second body came flying out of the same window and landed in the pool, next to the other body. It too, painted the once clear water red with its blood.

"T-This is scary...Is there a murderer up there?" I squeaked and went behind Xigbar for protection from whatever or whoever is up there.

"Close...Very close..." he muttered again, his eye still on the window. He drew his crossbow and shot an arrow into the broken window.

I heard a faint _snap _which probably means the arrow, by some unnatural means, had been caught mid-air and snapped into two.

_Okay...I am seriously freaked out right now! _A few minutes passed by without so much as a bird chirping was heard. Neither Xigbar nor I made a move as our gazes were transfixed on the broken window.

"Kiddo, can you do me a favour and fish out those two in the water? I'm afraid they'll really die if we leave them there." Xigbar whispered to me.

"What? _Are you crazy_? No way am I gonna' swim in that blood-ridden pool for-_for _those corpses!" I hissed back.

"They're not dead yet!" He protested. "Just go and take a dip already! I'll watch the window!" He assured me.

I hate the idea of _touching _them but I know that I can't let them drown (my conscious would bug me forever if I do so). With a hasty gulp, I dived into the pool.

The water was colder than I thought, and I shivered slightly from the lack of heat.

I quickly swam to the nearest body and let out a gasp as I recognized who it was.

"Demy!" The poor boy was beaten black and blue and his nose was crooked (broken, more like). I didn't recognize him because his hair was different than the usual Mohawk he sported.

I pulled the unconscious boy's collar and swam towards the next body, a sense of foreboding welled inside me as I recognized her too; it was Yuffie.

Thankfully she wasn't beaten as badly as Demyx was but she was still bleeding nonetheless. I pulled on both of them and with great difficulty, dragged them onto dry land.

"Y-Yuffie, D-Demy! Guys, wake up!" I nudged them both but only Yuffie stirred.

"Yuf!" Thank Heavens she's okay! The brunette coughed a few times and slowly opened her eyes. I was relieved that she managed to give me her usual goofy smile.

"Cuz..." Yuffie choked. I was alarmed by how soft her voice was.

"We need to get you to a doctor." I stated firmly but before I could carry her, Xigbar held a hand to stop me.

"Wait a bit kiddo." He kneeled beside me and stared at Yuffie. "Who did this? Where is he?" He asked the weakened girl.

I wanted to protest but Yuffie answered his question; "It was _Vanitas._ He's in one of the sophomore's classes. W-We tried to stop when he grabbed Naminé b-but...P-Please, you gotta' help Naminé, she's being hunted down by that maniac."

"Naminé?" Oh-My-God. "The monster that did this to you is after Naminé?" I'm not trying to be dramatic here, but...HOLY CRAP!

Yuffie nodded and her eyes drooped. I tried to make the girl stay conscious but she had already passed out.

Xigbar stood up and took out a cell phone from his breast pocket. "Lo', Xiggy here. Could ya' send someone from the infirmary to the swimming pool ASAP? We got some more victims of Vanitas here...Yes that'll be great, thanks." He ended the call and looked at me. "The med's on the way."

"T-Thanks." I let out a sigh of relief.

Xigbar gave a nod and walked towards the door leading into the school.

"W-Where're you going?" _Don't tell me he's..._

"I'm chasing down the perpetrator o' course." He said matter-of-factly, and then let out a sigh. "Dammit, of all the times he's gotta go berserk it's gotta be on my shift...What a pain in the ass..." He muttered darkly.

"You're not serious are you?" I looked at him in disbelief. Then I remembered he had a weapon with him. _But the arrow was snapped! Whoever this Vanitas is caught the arrow while it's still flying and snapped it into pieces!_

"Serious as the sea is wet sweetum'. You just wait here till the meds arrive kay'?" He gave me another nod.

"No way! Whoever this guy is, he's chasing after one of my best friends!" I protested. Naminé's in danger! "I'm following you whether you like it or not. I won't abandon her!" I said defiantly and crossed my arms.

"Do whatever you want." He shrugged.

Wow, he agreed to it much quicker than I thought.

"G-Good, then let's go." I gave a last look of concern to Yuffie and Demyx (they were still unconscious, but hopefully they'll get medical treatment soon!) and followed the eye-patched man into the school.

However, throughout the entire drama, I had totally forgotten about my hat and glasses, which were floating in the water.

* * *

Ho Ho, things are getting tensed what with the jocks, the outcasts, and the odd pair of Xigbar and Aqua chasing after the madman! ~Well on the side note, here's the additional information on the other Outcasts! (Taken from the mysterious book of information collected by Axel!) Ya-haw!

The Outcasts

_Naminé _– Freshman, and Aqua's only dorm mate in the Haunted Dormitory. The blonde-haired girl is bullied quite a lot due to her outstanding popularity with the boys. Shy and reserved, her only outlet of stress is through drawing, which she found quite pleasing and soothing. Unlike girls her age, she is quite dense when someone has a crush on her or even fully understands what 'love' is. This is shown when Roxas always tries to talk to her, which she misunderstood as his way of bullying her.

_Fang _– Senior, ex-jock and former captain of the volleyball team. Fang, Lightning and Larxene were old friends until Larxene betrayed them for her own gain. Fang is unruly, strong-willed and free-spirited. She doesn't like to be bound by rules and skipped school often to avoid being badmouthed of her former teammates. Originally threatened by her father (Barret) to join a club, she now enjoys the company of the Angels, whose club members are people whom she can get along with. Barret is constantly worried about his relationship with his daughter, and jumps immediately at the chance to help her with her problems. She has a little sister named Marlene.

_Aerith _– People say that being smart can give you respect but that is not the case with Aerith. Despite being the school valedictorian to earn her schoolmates' acceptance, she was shunned and ridiculed for being poor, something she got used to by senior year. She is very caring towards others, especially towards Naminé and Aqua. Her relationship with Cloud is unclear, but she always mentioned him as her 'bodyguard'. Axel labelled her in his books as 'The No. 1 Wife Choice' as she can spoil a guy to his heart's content.

_Cloud_ – Sophomore and one of the 'bad boys' at school. Cloud is Axel's old friend, as well as Terra's and Tifa's. He is usually detached from the student body and labelled as a true-blue outcast. Aqua suspects he has low-blood pressure as he never seemed to lose his cool. He lives alone and is often visited by Aerith, who cleans his house on a regular basis. He always sides with the outcasts, believing the school to be prejudiced over students who doesn't have athletic or academic abilities. He is the owner of 'Noises', a local music store where Aqua hangs out often.

_Hope _– Freshman and one of many that was accepted into being a jock before finally realizing they are nothing more than bullies. He has no intention of going back to them as he likes being with the Angels. Hope is exceptionally skilled with a boomerang, but the wooden toy often gets him into trouble (usually because he always accidentally hit people with it). He's on good term with Ven and Roxas, and Axel often calls them 'The Three Musketeers'.


	5. CHAPTER V: Know Your Enemies, & My New U

Yaaaaaaaa-haaaaaaaw! I am SO SORRYYYYY for the late update! I've had the most wonderful (and tiring) trip in my whole life these past (nearly) 2 months! I've been away in India for about that long for my U's final project (It's an exchange social programme mind you) that lets me experience life in a foreign country. My University had a few other choices (like Spain and China) but I say, what the heck? India sounds fun! And it is! Well details details, I am soooo sorry for the late updates guys! I had to stay away from fanfiction for that long due to connection issues and the fact that I'm staying around a rural area adds in the mix. Plus I've got a tan ^^ Anyway I haven't lost touch of my story-telling technique yet! I've had a pen and a notebook with me the whole month and a half! Anyway This is the final part of the 'Vanitas Saga' and I do hope you guys don't mind I add a lil' drama in this scene...and some outrageous fighting scenes (I got hooked on Hindustan fighting moves lol, yay Hindi movies ^^!) Anyway sincerely, I'm sorry for the long wait (especially Aquastorm XIV!) You've been sending me regular messages which I can't even read...sorry dear! " Anyway~ Here's Chappy 5! Ya-haw!

* * *

CHAPTER V: Know Your Enemies, & My New Ultimate Technique! (Part 2)

_Naminé_

_

* * *

_

"_Hah, hah_." My breathing was getting heavier and I felt like my lungs could burst at any moment. My legs were begging me to stop running (I'm not exactly the healthy and physically strong type, mind you!) but I knew that I couldn't; my very _life _depended on it.

Why did that demon have to appear in front of her? There we (including Demyx and Yuffie, at that time) were checking the second floor around the South Wing when he appeared. I was confused at first by the looks on Yuffie's and Demyx's faces and it was even more confusing when they told me to _run._

I was also confused when a few seconds later, the guy had landed a straight punch into Demyx's face and attacked him continuously without mercy.

My brain went numb and it's as if I've gone deaf. I could hear Demyx's cry of pain, and Yuffie's shout of rage. The masked boy then attacked Yuffie, kicking her straight on her skull. BAM, she fell down immediately. The assailant didn't stop there, oh no. He stepped and stepped on her guts without pausing to hear Demyx's plea of letting her go.

The masked man did stop though after a moment, in which he took the time to grab Demyx roughly by the collar and to my horror; He _threw _Demyx out of the window.

I felt my knees give way as Yuffie screamed something at me; "_Get away Nam! As far as you can!_"

I didn't know what else to do except to do as I'm told. I regretted leaving her behind, but I knew that if I stayed there a minute more; the monster's gonna' tear me into pieces.

Right now I'm trying my best to lose him somewhere in the classroom area, hoping he'd lose track of me. I was crying because I'm scared, I really am.

_Aqua...Axel...Roxas...Somebody save me!_

Why is he following me? I didn't do anything to him! But I remembered Cloud mentioned; _"Dangerous? The guy's a demon. Be it boy or girl, so long as you piss him off you're dead. But even if you didn't do anything wrong he'd still mutilate you."_

Yes. He is definitely a demon. I could hear his footsteps echoing in the hallway, slowly advancing towards me. How he managed to follow me here, I have no idea. And where are the other students anyway? Hasn't recess ended a long time ago?

It was unearthly deserted and deathly quiet, like in a horror movie scene where the ghost or murderer is chasing after his victim (usually a frail, useless girl like me) in a deserted area. What happens after that? The girl either has her soul sucked out of her or her body being ripped into pieces. I _do NOT _want to be that girl!

Suddenly, the hallway ended with a dead-end. The road was cut-off with a construction sign 'KEEP OUT, ELECTRICITY CABLES CHECK-UP'.

"Oh for crying out loud!" I swore (something out of my character, but WTH!) and saw the cables strewn out from the ground. No wonder there's nobody here. The teachers must've moved the students out of their classrooms due to the works. Cold sweats mixed with my tears dripped down my face as I couldn't find any other way to run.

Without any other choices left, I ran into one of the deserted classroom and jump inside a broom closet.

Inside the room I felt an immediate sense of being caged, and I could feel that I was being cornered by the madman. I dropped to the floor and covered my head with my arms, my face buried in my knees.

"Aqua...save me...Aqua..." I sobbed as I cried out for her. She was the first person who told me that she was my friend. Her very presence makes me happy... During the time we spent in the dorm, in the clubroom... I remembered her promise of that 'she'll always protect me'. I need her now...

I cried softly, fearing that the monster would find me sooner. He really is a demon, that Vanitas.

* * *

_Terra_

_

* * *

_

"Great, so he got these two too huh?" I grimaced at the sight. _Sigh* _This is really not my day...

A few minutes ago we got a call from the infirmary saying that there are two other injured students in the swimming pool area. We got here as fast we can but... It wasn't pleasant (not that the other places Vanitas' been is like rainbows and unicorns).

I recognized them right away; it was Yuffie and Demyx. These two _definitely _got beaten up by Vanitas, cuz' I know how strong Yuffie really is.

Snow was muttering under his breath and cursing as he looked around. His nerves are already cracking and his patience was at its limits. Serah (Snow's crush, and as he says 'would-be-girlfriend') called him earlier on saying that she and a couple of her friends were looking for her sister's friend, Aqua.

I knew why Snow was acting up though. Serah being out in the school hallways and roaming around aimlessly is making her vulnerable of being Vanitas' next victim. Snow had been against the idea, saying that he'll look for this 'Aqua' girl instead but Serah insisted it was okay and she ended the call.

_Aqua..._Now that I think about it, I think I've heard that name before...must've been my imagination huh.

"If that creepy little bastard touched even a length of hair on Serah's head so help me I'll pulverize him and make him wish he was never born..." Snow muttered through gritted teeth.

I patted him on the back to calm the big guy down. "Relax man, we'll find him before anything happens to Serah, okay?" I hope so anyway...

"Okay..." He muttered and stalked into the school. Behind him Tifa shook her head glumly, as if the sight of Snow being angry is something unpleasant. Tifa hated seeing anyone being angry, particularly her friends. _Which is why I don't understand why she keeps letting Axel hurt her feelings when she knew it's gonna happen every time she talks to him..._

This time, I shook my head too. Axel cutting his ties to us had been a huge blow to us, especially Tifa. How could've it happen? I mean we were close until my first year at Destiny High when I got a call from Tifa that one night.

Axel had been caught trying to burn the high school's locker rooms. It was a real shock to me though but when I got there and saw him being led by the cops into their car I just couldn't believe it.

_If only I had believed you, I really want to Axel..._

"_Tch fine, so this is how it is huh buddy?"_

"_There's nothing to talk about! It's over between us, and if you wanna join him you're welcome to jump into the bandwagon Tifa, cuz' I'm not."_

Those words snapped me back to reality. _I don't wanna remember those times right now..._ I stared at the pool absentmindedly. Wish it could just swallow me up right now... Then I noticed something odd. Frowning, I looked at the pool closer and saw two unfamiliar objects floating.

"What's that?" I tried to make out what they are. Some kind of cloth and...glasses? I don't think they belong to Yuffie or Demyx...

_That means there's someone else. _Alarmed, I quickly look around but there was no one in sight. _There was somebody here. _I gave an inward sigh. Another victim!

"Please let the dismissal bell ring now!" I groaned.

* * *

_Aqua_

_

* * *

_

"We've been here _before_. Do you really know where you're going?" I sighed. Xigbar and I were in front of the Home Economics Room which, for some odd reasons, is where we've been going to for the umpteenth time.

Xigbar was frowning and scratching his nose with the end of his crossbow. "That's weird, I was sure it was the left turn we need to take to get to the classroom area..." He muttered unsurely.

"And that's what you've been saying since just now! We've been going around in circles!" I said exasperatedly. Seriously, this guy has no sense of direction at all! I bit my lips to prevent myself from criticizing the one-eyed man; I was just as bad as he is with memorizing routes and stuffs.

"Fine, fine, we'll take the _right _turn after this." Xigbar held his hands up in defeat. He led the way up until the junction point and, scratching his head, made a left turn _again_.

"Xig! It's this way!" Alright, enough is enough. This guy may be a sports captain, but he has no clue of what he's doing right now.

I grabbed Xigbar by his arm and dragged him to the _right _route. I didn't want to waste any more time, all I hope for now is for Naminé to be safe, and preferably, in _one piece._

* * *

It wasn't that hard to follow Naminé's trail, all we had to do was follow the trail of blood that seems to drag throughout the school hallway. _That _spooked me out, but at least there's no sign of other bodies around.

Xigbar was behaving quite calmly, as if he's used to it. Then again, he has been handling the crazy guy for a long time, or so he said. Personally all I need to know is that his name is Vanitas, that he's also a sports captain, he's deranged and quite surely dangerous.

Thinking about it though, I'm being quite calm myself...I wonder why though. Naminé is in danger, Demyx and Yuffie are seriously injured, and there may be a lot of other potential victims who could be my friends...but somehow, I'm tracking down the perpetrator of my worries like I'm enjoying a lazy afternoon walk at the park.

"Hey, stop daydreaming." Xigbar snapped his fingers in front of my eyes. "He's close..." He dropped his voice to a whisper. Flexing himself like a leopard stalking its prey, Xigbar went into a half-crouched position and pressed himself against the wall.

I listened intently, trying to find any source of sound. "It's quiet." I said in an annoyed voice.

Xigbar waved his index finger knowledgably, "Preys always know when a predator is hunting them, that's when they hide their presence by masking themselves in the dead silence." He said in a serious voice.

For a second I saw Xigbar's eyes turned slit-like and flashed yellow. I rubbed my eyes and next thing I knew, they were back to its usual colour...must've been my imagination. Whatever it is, it was unnerving to see him hold the crossbow like he did, almost with reverence for the weapon.

"Stay here." Xigbar ordered, and went ahead by himself.

I merely nodded behind him and watched him tiptoe into the dark (Hey, wasn't it sunny just now?) hallway. The minutes passed by and I looked at the hallway again. I just couldn't sit still, the silence is getting to me. _Right, time for Aqua-solo action._

* * *

_Naminé_

_

* * *

_

"E-Eep!" I let out a squeal and ducked as a chair flew from the classroom, shattering the window. I covered my head with my arms as tiny bits of glass cut my skin. I peeped into the class to see the masked man watching me coolly, without a hint of showing me mercy.

"L-Leave me alone!" I yelled at him helplessly and got up to run again. Vanitas jumped effortlessly over the wrecked broom closet that I had hid in. He particularly tore the closet door of its hinges with one hand!

I haven't run far when I accidentally tripped over my own foot and landed on the floor painfully. _It's over...he's gonna' catch up to me in no time at all and rip me apart like that closet... _

I could hear his footsteps approaching and the next thing I knew, his foot was already stepping on my head.

"You sure hide well, you even made me feel excited over chasing you. Should give yourself a pat on the back you should." He said in a satisfied tone.

I sobbed as he pressed his foot against my head , crushing it painfully against the floor.

"Don't be scared, you won't feel a thing." Vanitas said quietly and raised his foot.

I could imagine him getting ready to stomp me with all his might. In a second all my brain matter and bits of my skull (Eww...) would be sprawled on the floor...talk about a perfect crime scene... I shut my eyes tightly, waiting for the painful blow.

"Eat this, bastard!" A voice yelled. I heard something smashed against Vanitas and his pained groan.

I was surprised and quickly opened my eyes. Standing in front of me, shielding me from the serial beater (I don't know what to call a maniac that goes around hitting people), was a familiar blue-haired girl who, time and again, had saved me from inexplicable things.

"Don't you dare touch Naminé you hear me?" Aqua shouted vehemently, holding a smashed chair in her hands.

"Ouch..." Vanitas groaned quietly, rubbing his left shoulder. "Y'know it's rude to do sneak attack from behind? Pisses me off..." He grumbled.

"Aqua..." I mumbled, looking at her unsurely. She was glaring at Vanitas intensely and wasn't intimidated by him. I've always admired that about her...never backing down even in the face of fear...

The blue-haired girl turned to face me, giving me a kind smile. "Don't you worry about a thing, I'll make sure you won't get harmed again." She said confidently.

Tears swelled in my eyes as I heard her said that. I could hear Aqua flustering over the state I'm in and everything else... It got me thinking; why am I so weak? Why am I always being the one who's saved? _Why...Why...Why..._

"Hey hey now, don't cry. You're safe with me." Again, Aqua spoke with that much confidence in her voice. She then turned her attention to Vanitas again, giving him the same cold look she gave him before.

* * *

_Aqua_

_

* * *

_

"I don't know who you are, but you're gonna' pay for hurting Naminé." I growled at the masked man. _So he's Vanitas..._

The so-called maniac was still standing there and I could see him staring at me from behind his visors. Somehow it sent chills down my spine.

"Huh, you're probably the second person to say that right to my face without some kinda' security shielding ya'..." He said monotonously. "The first was that idiot Terra..."

I dropped my defences for a split-second at the mention of 'Terra'. Why mention _THAT _guy now?

Sensing my weakness in nanoseconds, Vanitas lunged forward in breakneck speed and side-kicked the weapon (if you can call it a weapon) from my hand.

I let out a gasp and instinctively ducked. I narrowly missed a fist into my face and rolled backwards. Although I'm a pretty good acrobat, I did not notice a piece of rock in the middle of the floor to which I rolled on and painfully collided with my side. I cursed and rolled on the floor, I mean OUCH! How on earth can a piece of rock be in the middle of the hallway? Preposterous! I wiped away the tears of pain in my eyes as I massaged my side shakily.

"Pfft, hahahaha! What was _that_? The thing you just did! Hilarious!" Vanitas laughed like he had just watched a cheesy comedy show on the Saturday morning programme. He was clutching his stomach and pointing at me with enthusiasm. Suddenly he dropped on the floor and _imitated _the entire embarrassing scene that I just did. Then he laughed again and banged the floor with his fist several time, laughing all the way.

"He's whacked..." I mumbled. I really need to get Naminé out of here _pronto_. The poor girl is practically shaking.

"Think it's time I finish you off. Yeah, I should, the dismissal bell is about to ring after all. Don't want that cranky Xemnas putting me into detention again, or worse, the _asylum_." Vanitas pulled himself together and flexed his muscles.

I gulped involuntarily. _We're screwed._Vanitas lunged at us again and this time I knew he was aiming to kill.I shielded Naminé from view and did my best to cover her from him. At the very least, protect Naminé!

Suddenly, a boomerang hit Vanitas directly in the face (I mean helmet, whatever =_=). The deranged man did a double take and loses his footing. Unfortunately with his momentum he was going to crash _into _me.

I held up my arms to protect myself but suddenly a figure appeared in front of me and effortlessly threw Vanitas aside. The maniac side-rolled and stared at the person who had interrupted his fun.

"_Really _now, why do you always have to get into trouble the moment I left my sight off you?" The person sighed at me, shaking his head.

"A-Axel!" I gasped, relieved to see the redhead.

"Yo Aqua, need a hand?" Axel grinned playfully and looked behind me. "Good work Musketeer Number 3, that was a cool save." He gave a thumb-up.

"Heh heh, told ya' I was good with that thing." Hope puffed his chest out proudly.

Hope, Roxas and Ven walked to our side, shielding the both of us from the maniac.

"Where's Lightning and Xion?" Hope asked Axel, who was now staring at Vanitas.

"Went to check on Dem and Yuffie. They'll be here in a sec, as for now..." Axel trailed off as he looked at Naminé.

Roxas, seeing the sprawled Naminé, contorted his face in fury and glared at Vanitas. Ven too, did the same thing.

"Im gonna' thrash you for hurting Naminé!" Roxas yelled.

"Yeah, heard that already, could ya' be a bit more original?" Vanitas replied in a bored voice. "Didn't expect you to be here Axel, how long have you been in school anyway?" He directed his attention to Axel.

Again, I was intrigued by how famous (or infamous) Axel is with the whole school. Seriously the dude is as easily recognized as...well, a certain bronze god that roams around the school like everyone else...

"Bout' a week or two." Axel answered proudly. "And how long have _you _been out of the asylum? I know that old man Ansem kept you under high surveillance last time I checked, or did you manage to squirm your way out?"

"Got out round yesterday for good behaviour." Vanitas answered proudly too.

What the heck is wrong with the males in this school? It's either they're nice and nuts, or they're bad _AND _nuts! How can they both be proud for something like that?

Vanitas looked at Axel, then to Roxas, Ven, Hope, and finally the two of us. "Friends of yours?" He finally asked.

Axel gave him a swift nod. "Yup, heard you treated two of my _other _friends well too, it seems." Axel cracked his knuckles. He must've found out about Demyx and Yuffie...

"Lost count on the weaklings I thrashed, so could ya' scoot over so I can finish the job?" Vanitas made a shooing gesture.

This time, Roxas let out a growl at the rampaging berserker. The veins in his temple were pulsing and I could see that it's taking Roxas every bit of self-control he has to stop from jumping at Vanitas.

"Got something to say to me princess?" Vanitas said mockingly, noticing Roxas' mood.

Roxas made to lunge at him for the remark but Axel held out a hand to stop him. "Don't do anything stupid. You'll get killed in two seconds." Axel warned calmly.

"But he-" Roxas wanted to protest, but before he knew it Axel was the one who had jumped at Vanitas first.

"Axel!" Oh man, I was stupid to think that Axel is the most level-headed in the group here. He's the most hot-headed person I know!

Axel tackled Vanitas hard and continued attacking with a barrage of punches, kicks and chops. Vanitas retaliates with the same motion, both of them kept hitting each others' fists and legs.

It's like I'm watching an old kung-fu action movie here! These guys are on par with each other!

Behind me, Naminé let out a soft groan. I immediately turned to the younger girl, taking a good look at her condition. Minor scratches and cuts on her body, and she's complaining of having a headache...other than that, she's just shaken.

"Roxas." I turned my attention to the young boy, who was watching Naminé anxiously. "Get Naminé outta' here. Hope, you help him out and for God's sake, _find a teacher!_ Ven you go with them, can't risk having you involved in this scuffle."

Both Roxas and Hope nodded in agreement. Roxas gently carried Naminé in his arms like a knight carrying his fair maiden (aww they look cute!) while Hope awkwardly hovers in the background. Ven, however, refused to budge.

"I'm staying." Ven said with finality in his voice.

"Ven don't be stubborn, you can get killed here." I argued.

"So can _you_! And you're a girl no less! W-What if Axel lose and-"

"Axel _won't _lose!" I interrupted the boy before he finishes his sentence. "H-He just can't..." I gripped my left arm with my right hand tightly.

Ven made to argue but somehow he changed his mind and closes his mouth back, watching me quietly. I'm being kinda' tensed here, I do _not _like unnecessary bloodshed! I turned my attention back to the said redhead.

"I'll-Effing'-Kill-You!" Axel hissed while continuing his relentless attack. The tide seems to be in Axel's favour as Vanitas had resorted to defending instead of attacking back.

The battle dragged until both of them ended up near the stairway. Vanitas, having been cornered with his back inches from the first flight of stair, motioned to beg for Axel's mercy. The redhead lowered his fists a bit and suddenly Vanitas grabbed Axel's sleeve and pulled him downwards. Axel toppled down the stairs with a loud thud.

"AXEL!" Both Ven and I yelled. Oh man, is he alright? That was a really underhanded move! Axel had shown him mercy and he backstabbed him?

"That was dirty you sunnuva'-" Ven growled and suddenly an arrow whizzed past him, barely touching his hair, and hit Vanitas square on the chest. The monster appeared shocked by the hit and gracefully, slowly, he fell to the ground spread-eagle.

The whole place went silent all of a sudden. I froze as well as I looked at the fallen Vanitas, an arrow protruding from his chest.

"There's no such thing as foul play in a hunt boy, so you'd do well to remember that." A familiar voice muttered from the back, breaking the silence. Xigbar appeared from behind the corner, his crossbow still pointing at Vanitas.

"Xigbar!" Wow, I've been calling people's name out a lot today! Nevertheless, I was relieved to see the one-eyed man coming in the nick of time.

Ven gulped hastily as he looked at Xigbar, then to the fallen Vanitas. "You killed him..." Ven gulped again.

"Would take more than that to kill this game." Xigbar muttered back, not taking his eyes off Vanitas. "Don't worry, the arrowhead's blunt and it's dipped with tranquilizer." He said out of nowhere, probably knowing I'd hear it.

"Ouch..." Vanitas mumbled.

I turned my attention to him in alarm and my mouth fell as I watched him getting up again. The arrow's supposed to make him fall unconscious! There he is standing up again like nothing happened, _and _the arrow is still hanging in front of his chest!

"Damn it Xiggy! What the hell's up with you and shooting people? That hurts y'know?" Vanitas said angrily and he suddenly held his hand to his visor. "If it did hurt anyway...Ha ha ha! That was a riot! Didja' see the way I fell? Pretty good acting wasn't it? I wanted to add some cheesy line like 'Noooo, you'll never beat me!' but I think it's more dramatic with the silent fall thingy. And-" He continued talking animatedly while Xigbar merely frowns at him.

"He's crazy..." I muttered to no one in particular. I shook my head as he repeated his 'fall scene' and laughing while rolling on the floor like it was the most hilarious thing in the world.

"A few screws loose in the head that one. But that doesn't mean I'm any different." Xigbar smirked.

Again, a glint of those slit-like eyes flashed as Xigbar eyed Vanitas with a sort of longing hunger. I shuddered as I watched those two. _Loony captains... Is everyone in the athletic department crazy?_

"Been looking all over for ya' Vanny. No how's about you be a good boy and come back quietly?" Xigbar asked in an indifferent voice.

Vanitas stopped rolling and looked at Xigbar, "No way. I'm having the time of my life here. No way am I going back to the _asylum._" He answered with a mocking voice.

"If you come back without putting up a fight I'll tell the Superior not to put you back in." Xigbar tried to convince him. Vanitas scratched his head (again-helmet. _Whatever_) and made a blowing sound.

"Yeah that sounds like a good idea-_not_. You're the only person chummy enough with Xemnas, think I'm that stupid to fall for your trick?" Vanitas replied. He suddenly noticed the arrow is still in his chest and pulled it out. Trickles of blood sprayed from the open wound. "Hey! I thought you said the arrowhead's _blunt_?"

"I lied." Xigbar answered simply and fired another arrow. "Well if you're adamant about resisting then I guess I have no choice." Xigbar dropped his sling-bag and opened it to reveal a set of arrows, to which he tied to behind his back. "We can do this all day long."

Vanitas mocked him by acting scared and cowering in fear as he avoided the second arrow. "You're cold-blooded Xiggy." He said and rushed in towards Xigbar.

Xigbar, who was standing behind Ven, jumped aside and fired another round of arrow. Xigbar's crossbow has a unique trait to it. It's small and the arrows were short, making it easier for him to hold them and a much shorter time taken to reload.

Showing much agility and acrobatics skilled possessed by a club captain, Xigbar was able to keep his distance away from Vanitas as he shoots the berserker. Somehow Xigbar seems to purposely lure him away from where Ven and I were standing, and managed to make Vanitas follow him downstairs.

We followed the two and watched them continuing their fight, this time Axel had re-entered the fray. I let out a sigh of relief at the sight of the redhead. Thank God he's alright but now he's gone and entered into a mess again!

"Get out of the way you wannabe pirate!" Axel growled at Xigbar as he tried to land a punch on Vanitas.

"He's my prey! You stay out of it!" Xigbar growled back as he shoots at Vanitas.

"Wow, I'm super-popular here! I didn't know you guys loved me sooo much!" Vanitas joked, avoiding both attacks.

"YOU SHUT IT!" Both Axel and Xigbar roared, continuing their attacks.

I was getting dizzy from the fight. They were moving so fast that my vision was getting blurry. I rubbed my eyes and suddenly noticed something was amiss. _What's wrong here? Something's missing from my face..._ My glasses! I suddenly remembered! I feel around my head and noticed my hat was gone too.

Oh God Oh God! Has everyone saw my face, my _real _face, all this while? I had no problem with the people from the club but...Xigbar and Vanitas are definitely not the people I want to reveal myself to!

However my problem is pretty petty right now compared to the on-going battle in the abandoned classroom hallway (sounds like a Boss level in an RPG). Both Axel and Xigbar may be after the same target but they're attacking each other too. Many times had Axel narrowly missed from getting hit with Xibgar's arrows.

The battle wasn't about to end anytime soon as none of them showed any sign of relenting. This is _definitely _gonna' be a long day.

* * *

_Lightning_

_

* * *

_

"Snow I'm not gonna' repeat myself- _Get out of my way_." I swear, this guy is as stubborn as an ox! He's blocking the whole hallway just by standing there!

"No can do Light. Terra's already given out his orders, no normal students are allowed to pass by here." Snow shook his head.

Earlier on after I had left Xion to look after Demyx and Yuffie, I caught up with the jock trio (meaning Terra, Snow and Tifa) heading towards the same route Axel had taken.

Terra had insisted me to stay behind as it was too dangerous to continue on and had left with Tifa while Snow was in charge of traffic control.

"_No one other than Captain-level students is allowed past this point_ - That's what Terra said." Snow said defiantly.

I wanted to scream in agony right now for this oaf's thick-headedness. "I don't have the _time _to deal with you right now Snow! Axel's waiting for me back there, and so are my friends!" I readied myself in a kung-fu stance.

Snow however, raised his eyebrows in amazement. "That's the first time you ever mentioned those guys as 'friends'. Nobody else has ever had that _honour _before."

That caught me by surprise. How'd he know something small like that? Unless... "Who told you that?"

"Serah." Snow answered simply. "She told me once that you never told her you have any friends and she's worried y'know? Thinks that you're too anti-social and that's no good for you and all..." The giant continued talking.

"S-Serah told you that?" That kind of caught _me _off-guard. That little sister of mine had always been a little bit quiet around me, and it's hard to make a conversation with her these days... How come she never tells me anything and she goes ahead and _told _this giant about me?

"Yeah. And she also told me that you have a huge crush on-" Snow quickly held his arms in front of his chest to block my kick.

"You're _dead meat_." I hissed. And so is Serah when I get back home...

"H-Hey let's not get violent now...Ha ha..." Snow laughed weakly but I gave him a death glare to shut him up.

"Change of plans. At first I only wanted to get past you without _harming _you, now I'm gonna' pass you but you won't leave in _one piece._" I hissed again.

"I really don't want to fight you..." Snow sighed and flexed his muscles. "But orders are orders. Even if you're my girlfriend's sister, I won't hold back on you."

Hearing the word 'girlfriend' made me snap and I jumped onto the ceiling and kicked it to acrobatically aim myself onto Snow. It was rash and irrational to bluntly attack like that but I wasn't in my right mind to think.

Snow blocked the attack but I was quick to deliver a kick to his head as I made a back-flip using his body to kick on. To my surprise, Snow managed to catch me in mid-air and put me into a bear-hug.

"Wha-? Let me go you big oaf!" I tried to struggle free but his grip was too strong. _Damn! This is what I get for not thinking first!_

"Sorry Light..." Snow muttered and hugged me so hard that I thought my bones had shattered.

"A-Arggh!" I couldn't help but scream. The bear-hug technically was one of Snow's best techniques used to subdue large-bodied hooligans. A faint _snap _was heard. It was too much for my small frame and I felt my ribs breaking.

"_Gasp* Cough*_" I breathed in sharply and coughed hard. Blood spewed onto Snow's uniform and I felt my life being snapped out of me. _D-Damn!_

"Oh crap,I overdid it! Light!" Snow panicked and loosens his grip. I used the chance to kick his chest and again did a back-flip to get away from him.

"_Pant* Wheeze*_" I was crouching on the floor while clutching my chest. _Crap, the idiot really did break my ribs..._ Every movement I made was rewarded with a painful sting in my chest.

"H-Hey are you O.K. Light? Crap, Serah's gonna' kill me when she hears this!" Snow moaned and face-palmed himself.

_How can he be worrying about something like that at this time? _"Shut it you oaf..._pant*_" I coughed out blood again and quickly wiped my mouth.

"We gotta' get you to the infirmary now. I'll call the meds and-"

"DON'T YOU DARE SHOW ME ANY MERCY!" I shouted so hard that I coughed out more blood. I glared at the giant man and forced myself to stand up. "In a battlefield, you never show mercy to your enemy. That's the fastest and surest way to get yourself killed not to mention it'll damage your enemy's pride..."

"Now who's being stubborn? We're not even in a battlefield mind you. Don't be stupid Light, nothing's more important than getting you some medical help right now. Whatever's back there ain't worth it." Snow advanced slowly.

_Whatever's back there ain't worth it..._I closed my eyes and imagined Axel...and Aqua... Naminé is also back there...all of them are surely fighting Vanitas right now... Quite suddenly, the image of them sprawled on the floor in a bloody mess with Vanitas, that maniac, standing on top of their bodies came into my mind.

"Back there..." I muttered softly. "...are a bunch of goodhearted people waiting for me...call me stupid or whatever but my mind's made up. I'm gonna' win this and go back there." _I only have one shot at this._

Without warning, I forced myself to run at top speed, avoiding Snow's hands, and slid under him. Before he even manages to turn, I focused all my 'chi' into my right arm and, "_Eat this_."

BAM! A force so strong that even the hallway shook (dramatically speaking) from the impact. I hit Snow directly at his right side and the giant roared in pain (really, he did). That was my strongest attack that focuses on delivering a critical hit at the opponent's most vulnerable spot.

_Fall...Please fall..._ I fall to my knees as I watched him wince in pain and holding his side. _That was everything I could muster._

"Sorry Light..." Snow grunted. He suddenly turned and, using his left arm, delivered a Clothesline from Hell (pun from a wrestling move but it was definitely destructive). It hit my neck and my body spun in the air several times before I landed on the ground. My nose broke and more blood spilled from it and my forehead. _Must've hit the floor too hard..._

The effect of the hit was so strong that I swore if this was in a Final Fantasy game, it would've been a one-hit K.O. thing. I was fast losing consciousness as I gasped for air. I was choking as that hit had fatally injure me. _Stupid oaf...can't you hold back a little? _

My vision was getting blurrier by the second and the last thing I saw was Snow standing there, a look of pity in his eyes...idiot... Can't believe I'm losing to this moron... I guess I really can't win against him after that stupid mistake...sorry guys...

"All you ever had was speed Light...fair amount of strength but it was always speed." Snow muttered. "In football, it all comes down to strength. Having the power to annihilate your opponents in one swoop and protecting your teammates...but you did good, really good, but it wasn't enough beat me."

Is this guy boasting about himself? My vision darkens and I couldn't hear anything Snow said after that. Guess I'll sleep for awhile...

"_Hey what're you doing there all alone?"_

...What? A voice...I'm imagining things...

"_What's with that face? Are you all alone?"_

Idiot, what's with that question? Didn't I already say that I have friends?

"_Don't cry! Hey hey I know! Let's be friends!"_

I remember now...these words...it was that _other _idiot...How long has it been? I bet he doesn't remember it at all, but that was the real first time we've met...

"_Your name's Lightning? Too long, guess I'll call you 'Light' for short!_"

Heh, it's because of you that other people started calling me Light too...

"_Me? The name's Axel, A-X-E-L. Got it memorized?"_

What a lame way to introduce yourself...ha ha...

"That idiot was my first friend..." I muttered and by some unknown force, I managed to stand up again, surprising even Snow.

Where'd this strength came from? Heh, I guess it didn't matter. "He extended a helping hand when I was all alone, just because the other kids make fun of me and calls me a weirdo... Aqua too, she never judged me. Not once. Never called me names...Now that I have the chance to help someone, I'm not gonna' blow this..." My voice was soft and sounded like a broken radio.

"Stand down Light. You can get killed if you push yourself like this. I-I don't know how to control my strength!" Snow argued with me, desperate to stop me from doing anything stupid.

Now that I think about it, this guy did the same thing to me the first time we fought each other...that ended with me kicking his ass...

Snow shook his head and delivered another clothesline at me. I didn't think anymore and muttered, "The storm is here..."

I avoided the attack and went under his giant built. I delivered several punches to his chest, and then turned to aim his shoulders, legs and finally his neck. The hits were sharp and precise, and before I knew it I had my back on him as I stared at him. I must've moved at an amazing speed as Snow hadn't as much as moved a muscle, or rather, _couldn't _move.

"I've hit all of your pressure points...You shouldn't be able to move for awhile..." I muttered but I doubt he could hear my soft voice.

Snow was staring at me dumbfounded as he pushes himself to move but he couldn't. Finally he gave a silly smile and, "That was a cool ultimate technique Light. You win again."

I couldn't help but smile a little. "This is... Zantetsuken..." An ultimate technique huh? Guess I can call it that...and before I knew it, I fell down to the floor and fainted. _I've done all I can..._

Snow let out a sigh as he stood there like a statue. "You're one of a kind. You got yourself all beat up just to pass me and ended up sleeping in the hallway...and what's with that smile huh?" Snow grinned.

* * *

_Aerith_

_

* * *

_

_Currently on the second floor in the abandoned classroom hallway_

The three of us (Cloud, Fang and I in case you've forgotten) was rushing towards the classroom area after we came across Hope and Roxas, who was carrying Naminé in his arms. Cloud had asked every bit of detail that had happened and the gist of it; Axel is fighting Vanitas right now.

Suddenly a chill ran down my spine and I stopped running. An uneasy feeling filled my heart and my chest was feeling heavy. _Something happened..._ I looked back to the route we had taken and stared at the emptiness.

Cloud had stopped in his tracks and looked at me. "Something wrong?"

I clutched my chest and looked at the floor. "Someone's hurt...I can feel it..." _Who could it be? Xion? Or...Lightning? _It couldn't be, Lightning's really strong so could it have been Xion?

Fang patted me on the shoulder and ruffled my hair soothingly. "It's fine. Don't worry bout' it so much."

"But... I'm worried about the others. We're looking for Aqua while she could be chased by one of the most dangerous people in school and the juniors are involved in this too...A-All I'm saying is that what if in this chaos someone could by chance get seriously injured and possibly..._die_?"

I was a little surprised when Fang continued ruffling my hair, "Now you're over-thinking it. Relax a bit kay'? It's jes' a normal fight in school...plus a homicidal lunatic in it but _the main point here _is that nobody's gonna' die. It's just a small fight." She winked at me.

Trust Fang to keep her cool in this situation. I gave her a half-hearted smile and looked at the hallway again before continuing on ahead.

"I'm gonna' check on ahead, you guys catch up with me okay?" Fang winked again and dashes off ahead. She really does seem to have unnatural athletic abilities...

"...Let's just hope that this doesn't get out of hand." Cloud said calmly as he ran beside me.

I silently nodded, wishing that we'll find Aqua safe and sound and that there won't be any other casualties after this is all over.

* * *

_Aqua_

_

* * *

_

Boys are dorks. That's what Yuffie told me when we were eight years old. They act all tough and mighty in the playground and always laugh at us girls for...being girls but when they trip over their own untied shoelaces and fall...they'd run to their mommy crying over a little scratch on their knee... Oh, I forgot to mention; they also like to fight over stupid stuffs. They act up and want to show off in front of girls how tough they are. Right now, that's exactly what these boys are doing.

I sighed as I watched this trio destroy school property by throwing desks, chairs, and even broom closets at each other. What is this? School Rumble?

I can see that Vanitas isn't letting up anytime soon and so weren't Axel and Xigbar. This fight isn't going to end until one of them falls down. I wish Mr. Auron is here right now...

"Aqua, h-hey Aqua!" I could hear Ven calling out my name. I suddenly noticed that he had moved away from the stairs (where I'm standing right now) and was frantically pointing at something in front of me.

I turned just in time to see a humongous trophy cabinet being thrown right at _me_ (or in this case, it's already in mid-air!). I also saw that it was Vanitas who had thrown it with the intention of hitting Axel, who had easily dodged it (which is why I'm the new target for that thing!).

"_Oh dear._" I squeaked. No way am I able to move away in time and as I'm thinking all these stuffs, the cabinet is already inches away from my head.

CRASH! The cabinet had hit its mark.

"AQUA!" Both Ven and Axel shouted. Wow, it's getting kinda' dark in here...

* * *

_Axel_

_

* * *

_

"AQUA! Hey Aqua! Answer me damn it!" Oh shit, that huge pile of wood typically smashed into her! I quickly rushed to her as Ven had already begun lugging up all the smashed woods.

I crouched to his side and began digging too. Bits of wood, metal and glass (I began to panic when I saw blood on it) were everywhere. Even the content of the cabinet (trophies and medals) was sprawled everywhere. _Please don't die dammit'!_

"Aqua! Aqua!" Ven yelled her name as he dug. The boy was really panicking but I couldn't blame him, I'm feeling the same shit he's feeling right now. After a few seconds we finally saw a part of her body but she was trapped underneath the body of the cabinet.

"Alright here we go Ven, one-two-" Inhaling deeply, the two of us pushed the cabinet aside with all our might. It rolled to the side and there Aqua was, lying on the floor.

My heart dropped as I saw her covered in blood (this quantity is like those tragic accident movies) and what's worse is that she wasn't even moving. I immediately pulled her close to me and gently tapped her cheeks a few times.

"Aqua, hey Aqua. C-C'mon, open your eyes." My voice was oddly cracked, and it sounded more like a groan. The girl didn't respond and her eyes stayed shut. She's in a bad state. Any of her bones could be broken and the way I see her blood flowing out of her head like a waterfall in Neverland, she's had a major concussion.

_That screwed-up son of a bitch threw that heavy piece of shit straight to her face. _What's worse right now is that it was _my _fault she's injured. If I hadn't dodged that thing, she wouldn't be in this state!

"Hey hey, it ain't my fault she's dead." I heard Vanitas said. "You were the intended target and ya' dodged it and it hit _her _instead. Pure accident." He said all that calmly, but somehow I knew that _that freak _is smiling behind that visor of his.

"Ven...Take care of Aqua..." I gently passed the unconscious girl to Ven. My anger is at its limits now.

"Crap, shouldn't have taunted em' like that Vanny." Xigbar frowned and massaged his forehead. "You may be the school's _known _maniac but this guy..."

"What? He got a nickname too?" Vanitas was still joking around but he had no idea how badly this situation's gonna' turn out to be.

"The name 'Flurry of Dancing Flames'. That hit any mark in that noggin' o' yours?" Xigbar inched away from Vanitas as the enormity of that name dawned on the maniac.

I took out my lighter from my pocket and picked up a gas tank that rolled on the floor (it must've rolled out of the Home Economics class). I'm gonna' get expelled after this and may even go into jail but..._who the hell cares?_

But before I could even do anything a hand pulled on my arm from behind. I turned to see the one man I absolutely loathe more than Vanitas- _Terra._

What took the idiot so long to get here? I glared at the jock as he stared back into my eyes calmly.

"Axel...Put that thing down. You're going to burn the whole school down at this rate." Terra said calmly.

Aaah! Everything about this guy pisses me off! But it pisses me more that he's right. I looked behind him to see Tifa calling the school infirmary to help Aqua

Grudgingly I pocketed my lighter and threw aside the gas tank. "Have it your way then." I muttered and went straight to Aqua's side.

* * *

_Terra_

_

* * *

_

Glad I made it on time. If I was even a second slower Axel would've blew the whole place up. After making sure he had calmed down, I gave a piercing gaze at Xigbar, then to the culprit behind today's mess; Vanitas.

The masked boy stared at me back. Although his face was concealed, no doubt he's staring at me with eyes filled with pure hatred. I foresaw that he's going to attack me and right on cue; he immediately lunged forward without hesitation.

However I anticipated that move as he always does that (the part where he suddenly runs straight at you) and from behind me a flash of yellow and followed by a jovial laugh jumped at Vanitas. Ropes flew around him as the new figure jumped around him in an unnatural speed.

In less than a minute, Vanitas was tied up and rolled on the floor. "Hey! What the- _Zidane!_" Vanitas spat as the figure grinned and jumped to my side.

"Hey hey, that was all in the plan yea! Smooth planning there, think all of us don't know how you usually start your attacks yea?" Zidane said energetically.

The Captain of the Blitzball team and a Senior, Zidane Tribal is the most acrobatic man I've ever met. The symbol of the _Blue Monkey _was etched on his collar as he crouched and scratched his head in a dog-like manner.

He's a rather primitive guy if I have to say so myself. Not only does he have a tail (monkey tail! But he said it was some kinda' birth defect), he always moves in a monkey-like manner and loves to hang on trees. His favourite food... Try and guess? _Bananas_. Big surprise.

"Zidane! When I get out of here I'm gonna' skin you alive and cut that tail of yours you hear me!" Vanitas cursed as he tried to struggle out of the ropes.

With his tremendous strength (which rivals even Snow) I knew he can break apart from the ropes but I anticipated that as well. Suddenly a huge figure landed on top of Vanitas, causing him to groan in pain. His movements restricted, Vanitas was as good as captured.

"Good work Xaldin." I praised the large man.

Xaldin merely nodded and sat on top of Vanitas, his eyes not leaving the apprehended man.

Captain of the Spears and Javelin Throw club as well as a Senior, Xaldin is an extremely obedient and loyal person contrary to his position. Extremely dedicated to his sports, he is one of the best Lancer I've ever met and also the record holder for the furthest javelin thrown in Destiny High. Although he can be a little...rough sometimes he is extremely loyal to Xemnas, our club advisor and vice-principal of the school.

"H-Hey ease up there big guy...you're _crushing me_." Vanitas choked but Xaldin retorted by adding his weight even more on the man.

"Xaldin, make sure you bring that guy straight to Headmaster Ansem. We'll deal with him later." I sighed as Xaldin heaved Vanitas onto his shoulders and passed Xigbar without so much as a stare.

"_That's it?_" I heard a female voice said from the back. I turned around to see an old face looking at me with much apprehension.

"Fang." Really, what's she doing here? _How _did she get here would've been the wiser question.

"That bastard beat the crap outta' the students and critically injured _four _of our club members, and all you can say was _bring him to Headmaster Ansem?_" Fang said incredulously. It took me awhile to register that when Fang said 'our' club member; she was referring to the Outcasts.

"You're in the Angel Wings?" I should've guessed she would be one of them, what with her being kicked out of the Volleyball team and all...

"Loud and proud about it. So I'm guessing it's under Xemnas' orders to bring that asshole to Ansem?" Fang scoffed.

I didn't like that idea myself too but I gotta' stick up for that bastard and convince Fang somehow. "See here Fang, Mr. Xemnas must have an idea on how to punish Vanitas. Surely you-"

"Cut the crap." Fang interrupted me and went to carry a girl which was in Axel's arms before. Fang looked seriously concerned and I could see the girl was seriously injured. "Its okay mate, I know you're not in a position to critize your head honcho." Fang added. I guess she understood the position I'm in huh?

"If you wait for a minute, the meds are gonna' be here soon..." Tifa told Fang but the raven-haired girl gave her a smile instead.

"Would be faster if I run. I don't think sweetie-pie here is gonna' last long." Fang nudged her head at the unconscious girl. I tried to take a peek at the girl but Fang, Axel and the junior from the locker incident all crowded and obscured her from view.

"Hey hey Fang! I don't think it'd do you any good going to the infirmary now yea? Jes' got a call from Snow sayin' the place is packed with injured students yea?" Zidane suddenly cuts in, his cell phone dangling by his tail.

Axel swore and face-palmed himself at the news. "Great, just great..." He muttered and I could see him thinking of another plan.

Zidane used his tail to push himself up to my height and dropped his voice to a whisper (literally, he even used his hand to shield his mouth to talk). "I also got this news from the big guy. Said he and another cutie named Lightning is headed to the Athletes' Special Infirmary yea? So why not we offer them..." Zidane egged me on. I could see his face shining with excitement.

"And what's in it for you?" I raised my left eyebrow. I know that this guy here never offers help without some kind of benefit in it for him.

"Oh~ Nothing. It's just that y'know, I took a peek at her just now when I jumped from the second floor and I saw her face and all and you know...she's kinda' cute." He grinned mischievously.

Thought so. So it's a girl huh? "You say every girl you meet is cute." I held back the urge to roll my eyes.

"Yea? Well, this one takes the cake. I'd ask her out but I think Garnet will kill me... Maybe I can date her sneakily?" He scratched his chin in a thoughtful manner, but I knew he was joking. Zidane's really scared of Garnet and wouldn't do anything to get into her black book. "So? What'd you think bossman?"

I gave it a thought before finally agreeing with him. "Fine, we owe them anyways. This crap with Vanitas started because _some _of us..." I glared at Xigbar, who merely shrugs, "...had neglected their duties."

I gave the green-light to Zidane and he jumped ahead to tell them the 'good news'. I'd have told them myself but I don't want to get into any unnecessary arguments with Axel- He'd think anything I suggest would be some kind of set-up out to get him.

I couldn't hear their conversation well but judging from their expressions (which had a mix of relief and anxiety), they had accepted the offer out of no choice. Now, to cover _another _loose end...

"Xigbar." I turned my attention to the one-eyed man. He was leaning against a smashed wall and had his arms folded in front of him.

"What?" He asked although I'm sure he had a feeling what I'm about to ask.

"Not only did you neglect your duty of keeping an eye on Vanitas today, you've also let him rampage around and destroy school property, not to mention involving a normal student in the process." I stated all of his faults in one go.

"Hey now, I tried my best to keep the kid outta' the mess! She's the one who followed me here when I told her to stay back! And for crying out loud I've told you guys a thousand times that I'm no babysitter! I get sidetracked easily!" Xigbar argued.

"Nonetheless, it's still your duty as a Captain of a club. You're to blame for this mess and I suggest you make it up to _them _for what happened to her." I nudged a finger to the Outcasts.

Xigbar swore loudly and tried to protest but I gave him a sharp look that made him shut his mouth close. "Cripes, you're serious about this? _I'm-a-jock_. We do not mix with Outcasts! It'll be like spraying myself with barbecue sauce and throwing myself into a pen of hungry lions!"

"Take it as a punishment. And you owe _her_." Again, I nudged my finger to them. I know for a fact that Xigbar doesn't like owing people for anything.

"Urgh fine! But jes' until the kid gets out of the sick bed ya' hear me? Not an hour more!" He agreed grudgingly.

Satisfied, I called for Tifa and Zidane as Xigbar dragged his feet to the Outcasts. I looked around at the damages and sighed again. _Guess Xemnas is gonna' have a fit about this. More budget cuts from the athletic department no doubt._

"So everything is in order?" I looked at both Tifa and Zidane, and the two nodded. "Good, let's go to the meeting room, it's too late to go back into class now." The whole school will be buzzing about the news by tomorrow morning, but somehow I know that Xemnas is gonna' manipulate it to make the student body fear us 'jocks' more. "Let's move." I told the two.

"Hey." A voice called out.

I spun my head around to see that it was Axel. His eyes were staring straight at me, although it now lacks the usual intensity. He had his hands in his pockets and was just looking at me.

"...Thanks for the V.I.P. suite..." He shrugged and ruffled his hair. He then turned around to follow Fang and the others.

"Axel..." Tifa was looking at him with shocked happiness. I can't believe it myself but Axel actually thanked me? After all these years?

I couldn't help but smile and, "Anytime, old friend."

With his back turned, Axel showed his middle finger to us as a reply. Guess we're making progress... At least he _replied._

We made our way off as well, my head still suffering from a headache from today's event. Zidane however, was telling Tifa excitedly about the injured Outcast girl's _delicate _figure.

She shuts him up by pushing his head downwards (Zidane is really short, mind you) and turned her attention to me. "Hey, you know who that Outcast girl Axel tried to save just now?" She was looking at me with a serious look.

"Didn't get a good look at her." I shook my head.

Tifa stopped in her tracks and had the same look on her face. "It was your _bluebird_." The dismissal bell rang as the words escaped her lips.


	6. CHAPTER VI: Save The Queen

Yaaaa-hawie! I can't believe I'd actually managed to post this up before midnight! (Well, waiting for the 25th here mind you!) And i can't believe I've managed to go far with this fic either! (Usually trouble would arise as I'm doing a fic like my previous ones..." but never mind that! This chappy here is focusing more on Aqua (cuz' she's the main character duhh!) and I'd like to stress it out that she _is _the main character :P I'm putting in some special characters from FFIX (since I love them all sooo much!). Special thanks to queenofspades19, Orochimarisu, Aquastorm XIV, dikemon, Riku Uzumaki, Luxuria De'Voire, Katfreak, unknown reviewer (but still appreciate it!), aaaaaannnddd Eidolon Twilight Princess! And let's not forget the people who had registered this fic as their Favourites (I still appreciate you guys too although u guys didn't review!) for taking the time to read it! I dunno' if you guys would like this chappy or not (since I'm maintaining some special focus on some FFIX characters) but do leave a review so that I could improve on it! And sorry again for my bad grammatical and/or spelling errors! Flame me if you want muahaha! Ya-haw! :)

P.S. A certain lovable furry companion from FFVII is also present (although a cameo) in this chappy! Guess where and who it is!

* * *

CHAPTER VI: Save The Queen 

_Terra_

Great. _Just Great_. The very day I _finally _get to see my dream girl again is on her deathbed (That's just stretching it, but she might as well be!). Real swell, I really gotta' send Vanitas my love after this and a card too. It should say "_Thank you for crushing my dream!" _Then again it might just make his day, getting a card like that...

I walked quickly (sprinting, more like) past the masses of students cramming to get out of school and into the infirmary.

The place was packed with injured students, groaning, moaning and wincing from their pain which were inflicted by Vanitas. I couldn't help but pity all of them and if given the chance I would like to assist them but right now, there is a more pressing matter at hand.

The other side of the packed infirmary lies the athlete's special room where only jocks are allowed to use (hence the name). It was much less crowded inside but there were still quite a number of students in there.

I walked past the beds and stopped in my track as I noticed a familiar strawberry-haired girl sitting in a chair, her face buried in the chest of a person lying on the sickbed. My stomach lurched inwards as I recognized the girl on the bed - _Serah_.

Lightning wasn't moving as she rubbed her little sister's arm gently. She too was covered in bandages (I think she's in a worse state than Serah) but was much more concerned of the unconscious girl. I watched them silently, unable to move or make a sound.

I could hear a loud grunt and shouts from the next bed which was separated by a veil. I immediately recognized that the voice belonged to Snow.

"_Let me go see her! Doc! Lemme' get off the bed!" _Snow shouted, and I hear a few other voices forcing him to stay put.

"_Damn it, damn it, damn it! SERAH!" _Snow's shout turns into a sob and finally an untranslatable howl of sadness escaped the giant man's mouth. I watched the opaque veil sadly, I could just imagine how Snow is feeling right now.

"Tell that idiot to shut up..." Lightning muttered, breaking my concentration. I merely stayed quiet but somehow I think she knew that I'm standing right behind her.

"She was so close... They found her near the Chemistry lab... I was too late..." Lightning choked, her grip on Serah's arm tightens. "If only that oaf didn't get in my way... It's his fault Serah's like this... He didn't even _look _for her and he dares call himself her boyfriend...?"

"It's not Snow's fault." I somehow managed to get my voice back. "He wanted to look for Serah but I told him to stand guard instead. I-I didn't want any other students to get involved..." I trailed off as Lightning gave a snort.

"The doctor said her right wrist is broken..." Lightning muttered. "And there's a painting competition the day after tomorrow that she's been dying to enter..."

My heart sank even further as Lightning continued.

"...She couldn't stop talking about it for weeks, saying that it's held only once every two years and so on and that she's been chosen to represent Destiny High... She was so happy that she cried about it... _N-Now what am I s-supposed to tell her when she wakes up?"_ Lightning choked.

I couldn't say anything more. Lightning, despite her rough exterior, is known to love her sister very much (unknown to the said sister though). She often kept tabs on Serah's wellbeing from her friends and classmates. She never directly asks Serah how she's doing or what had she been up to. Maybe it's just shyness, or maybe it's just the way Lightning shows her affection for her little sister that she protects Serah from the shadows.

There wasn't anything I could say to ease her pain so I merely muttered a sincere "I'm sorry..." and bowed deeply to them. Lightning made no reaction of seeing my gesture and I withdrew from the scene, resuming my walk.

_There will be time to make up to them. I'll set things right._

* * *

After a painstaking search around the infirmary, I finally found her (her bed is the last one in the infirmary!) and Xigbar, who was snoring in a chair right next to her.

Count on Xigbar to fall asleep on the job, practically after I drilled it in his head that he's supposed to be on look-out. I looked left and right to see if any of the others were around (mainly Axel) and after making sure only the three of us were present, I pulled on the curtains to prevent passer-by's from prying.

I tiptoed as quietly as I could (I know Xigbar has quite the sharp hearing) and stood beside her bed. _It really is her!_

The Outcast girl whom had been mutilated by Vanitas, whom had made Axel loses his temper for, whom had somehow, maybe, stolen my heart.

The blue-haired girl was sleeping peacefully, her breath steady as her chest heaved up and down slowly. The window was open and the sunlight shone lazily into the room, making her face brighter and more magical (hey, a guy can imagine his princess however he wants right?).

It pains me to see her head being wrapped in heavy bandages and when I looked closely, her whole body was too. _How bad are her injuries anyways? Are there any bones broken? W-What if she too had wanted to take part in the painting contest and ended up like Serah?_

Thousands of questions buzzed in my mind as the guilt began to eat me up from the inside. Although not directly, it was my fault that all these students suffered great injuries for not being able to control Vanitas, and for not ensuring that he's secured from the masses.

I shut my eyes forcefully as I couldn't bear the pain and clenched my fists. "I'm sorry, I really am." I apologized through gritted teeth. _I'm a failure as a leader..._

"...'s not your fault... Don't apologize silly..." a soft voice muttered.

The tension loosens as I opened my eyes in amazement. Her eyes were still closed but the blue-haired girl was smiling. Her face was so serene and pure that all of my guilt and dreariness disappeared almost instantly. She really is the Angel I was looking for.

I shut my eyes again and muttered, "Thank you..." I felt glad somehow, that at least one person had told me that all this wasn't my fault.

The girl had held out a hand weakly and I took it into my own. I held her soft, delicate hand and embraced it gently. A moment passed without so much as a moan coming from the other side of the curtain and I enjoyed it.

_Okay, time to be a bit daring muscle boy. _I inhaled deeply and nervously, I placed my lips awkwardly on her hand. She didn't make any sudden movement and I retracted my face quickly.

I held her hand with both of my own and looked at her determinedly. "I'm...I'm in love with you, y'know? It might sound kinda' stupid coming from me. We barely know each other and heck, I don't even know your name! B-But I just know it somehow, that you're the one for me." I confessed courageously (or so I liked to think!).

"I'll set things right." I gripped her hand slightly stronger. No way am I gonna' let you get hurt like this ever again...

* * *

_Axel_

_

* * *

_

"Whew! I thought he'd never leave!" Yuffie sighed, and all of us tumbled out from behind the curtains.

"Who'd a' thunk' Terra could be so..._dreamy_? Move outta' the way Yuffie, you're squashing my injured leg." Demyx groaned as he pushed away Yuffie.

"Watch the arm!" Yuffie hissed as she shoved Demyx aside.

"Will you two be quiet?" I massaged my forehead and stood up. "Aqua you can wake up now." I swatted the girl's forehead.

"_Oww_ that hurts Axel!" Whined the thought-to-be unconscious girl. Aqua opened one of her eyes to look around, and finally frowned at me. "That wasn't nice, what we did you know?" She puffed up her cheeks.

"Had to do it, told ya' didn't I?" I half-shrugged. I walked out of the room and walked past the still screaming Snow (that dude has _got _to get a grip) and into the next room.

A small gasp was heard as I rolled away the curtain and watched the confusion of the two sisters. Serah was the one who is sitting on the chair now while Lightning had pulled the blanket over her head.

"Oh Axel! It's only you." Serah let out a sigh of relief as she saw me and nudged Lightning to get up.

"Acting time's up. C'mon, time for roll call in Aqua's room." I gave a small grin to the two sisters.

In Aqua's room, I pulled the curtains shut while Ven was counting heads for any missing member. After a few seconds, Ven gave his thumb up and I looked around.

Yuffie and Fang had taken to sit each at Aqua's side while Hope, Ven and Roxas huddled together and was busy bothering a sighing Xigbar about his eye-patch. Aerith was fussing over Naminé who was drawing something on her sketchbook despite her injuries while Xion was busy talking to Cloud and Demyx about something at the corner of the room. The Farron sisters were standing next to me (Serah was looking quite dumbfounded).

I let out a small cough and the room instantly went quiet (talk about star power hehe!). "Well the _'Fool-Terra-About-Our-Injuries'_ plan went without a hitch. Thank the stars that he wasn't really paying attention to the _moving _curtains." I frowned at Yuffie and Demyx while the two gave me a playful grin.

"I still don't get why we need to do that." Aqua crossed her arms.

"I'm gonna' explain that but first...status report. How badly injured are you guys?" I stared at our wounded comrades.

"Broken arm." Yuffie held her left arm up.

"Broken leg." Demyx shoved his right leg up and was kicked by Cloud.

"Minor scratches...and a long cut on my forehead..." Naminé said over the screaming Demyx.

"Dislocated right arm, sprained left leg and a huge migraine." Aqua rolled her eyes.

"Broken ribcage." Lightning sniffed indifferently and winced when Hope poked her around her stomach.

"I broke my wrist...my left one anyways..." Serah sniffed glumly and shifted her feet. "And I told Claire she needs to go to the hospital but _nooo_, she says she's _fine_!" The girl frowned at her older sister, who was strangling Hope.

"_I-am-fine_." Lightning argued as choked the poor boy.

"Injured now... Strangled by Light..." Hope groaned and dropped to the floor.

"We'll cross the last one out." Axel sighed. "Well, it could've been worse. At least that loony didn't get the whole pack."

"Yeah compared to the _worst_, this is like rainbows and unicorns." Fang rolled her eyes. "And y'know what's really better? We could- _Waitaminute_, _Claire_?" Fang suddenly looked at Lightning incredulously.

"What?" Lightning looked questioningly at Fang. The whole room had suddenly decided to be quiet and stared at Lightning. "W-What?" The strawberry-haired girl looked around, discomforted by the stares.

"Your real name's _Claire_?" Demyx raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, what of it?" Lightning replied defensively.

"Nothing~ Well, it's kinda'..._feminine_." Cloud grinned at her.

"Aww, I think the name suits her, and it's kinda' cute." Aqua gave her sparkly eyes look at Lightning.

Lightning blushed furiously and waved her arms in front of her. "D-Don't call me cute." Her face had resembled the colour of her hair as all of us chuckled.

"So are you gonna' tell us now why'd you want us to fool Terra?" Aqua asked again, a look of impatience on her face.

"Calm down I'm getting to that." I waved her off. "Aite', y'see I knew that Tifa must've seen Aqua's face just now and Zidane too. Stay away from the guy, he's quite the big flirt." I stared at the blue-haired girl knowingly as she nodded.

"So they've seen her face, big deal." Fang yawned.

"I wouldn't want them to find out who she is, mind you. Would blow off the whole 'mysterious bluebird' aura or so the kids called it these days." I explained.

"I thought it was 'melodious' not 'mysterious'?" Roxas scratched his head.

"Details." I rolled my eyes. "Anyways the reason why I made Aqua play dead" Aqua puffed her cheeks up again, "...and Serah here to act injured." I patted the younger Farron's head.

"I didn't want to lie to Snow like that...and I'm not _that _hurt, I just couldn't move my wrist much that's all!" Serah added.

"This happened because you acted on your own accord and didn't heed my warning." Lightning looked at her younger sister sternly. "It was a good thing that Kairi had found you or you'd have been in an even messier situation."

"Eh-hehe..." Serah twirled her side-ponytail nervously. "A-Anyways nice story you told Terra back then Claire...about the whole art contest and stuff." She hurriedly changed the subject.

"Well...Axel asked me to make a story about it..." Lightning answered, sidetracked from her previous ranting.

"And I'm gonna' explain that part too." I cut Aqua off, seeing as she had already opened her mouth to say something.

"I wanted the oaf – I mean Terra to know the enormity of what just happened. Seeing all those injured students plus those who are close to him in here must have an effect on his conscious. Would teach him a lesson not to leave his toys around anymore, keep Vanitas under _qualified _supervision after this." I stared at Xigbar, who merely shrugged.

"I'd told him a thousand times that I'm not a babysitter." Xigbar said, half-annoyed.

"Ah well, at least you gave us the heads up on where he was and nice acting back there by the way, good job on that." I nodded at him.

"Oh yeah, I didn't know that Xigbar was on our side." Aqua muttered thoughtfully, looking at the one-eyed man.

"Been wanting to be like James Bond all my life, and being a spy absolutely thrills me." Xigbar chuckled.

"Xigbar here owes me a favour back in our heyday. Got the cops off his back in one memorable car chase." I looked at the ceiling, reminiscing the old days.

"What kind of car-" Aqua inquired more but Fang put a finger on her lips.

"Better not to know what these two did honey." Fang winked.

"Yeah well anyways I've put him in the jocks because this guy is dead useful. Hears things that we don't often hear, such as the Captain's meeting agenda and etc." I continued.

"So you're kinda' like a mole?" Ven raised an eyebrow.

"The deal was I'd give redhead here all the information that I hear on the inside. Other than that, I'm a full-fledged Captain of the Archery Club." Xigbar explained.

"Yes yes, we're all _enthralled_ by your undying loyalty to your club. Moving forward, I also hear that they, meaning the jocks, are planning something big this year." I looked at Xigbar for confirmation and he nodded.

"The Superior's been conferencing with Terra a lot these past few weeks about it. I had the scarcest idea what it might be but it involves something bigger than the students." Xigbar relates but I kinda' doubt the others get what he's saying...

"Well...The acting was just to play mind tricks on Terra so that he'd be stricter with the student's safety after this, that's all. Anyway as I'm seeing a lot of wounded people here...I guess we have to cancel off this week's club activity." My statement was greeted by a round of moaning and protests.

"Don't cancel the club meetings!" Aerith pleaded. "I enjoyed going to the clubroom every day..."

"I didn't say we're couldn't meet in the clubroom! It's just that I don't see how we can play tag with our members having broken arms and legs now can we?" I stated.

"So...we can still see each other every day?" The hopeful voice belonged to Naminé, who looked a little relieved at my words.

"Yup, every one of our ugly faces if you want." I grinned as the others said "Hey!"

"We don't have to cancel _all _our activities. I mean, there are a lot of other things we can do on that list of yours right Axel?" Cloud said quietly.

"Meh, I guess so. I'll have a look at it when I get back home later. For now, meeting adjourned!" I clapped my hands.

The others started waving goodbyes at each other and walked out of the room quietly, making sure not to alert any unwanted attention. I stayed behind and looked at the blue-haired girl.

* * *

_Aqua_

_

* * *

_

"Axel..." I began but was cut off by Xigbar who waved his hands.

"Wait, wait a minute! I don't want to hear any more lovey-dovey words today! Did ya' know how hard it is to keep a straight face when that blundering muscle-boy started reciting _love poems_? Call me when you're done." Xigbar exasperated and walked outside, pulling the curtains shut.

Axel merely chuckled as I flustered over his words. That pirate! Why on earth would I do that?

"I _wasn't _going to recite love poems!" I said crossly.

"But Terra did." Axel grinned evilly.

I could feel my own face heated up as I imagined back what Terra had said...and _done_ just now. Thank the Heavens the others didn't see that!

"_I'm in love with you."_

Yup, I definitely heard his confession just now and so did Demyx, Yuffie and worst of all _Axel_. I know he's going to make fun of this for a _looong _time.

"So what's your answer?" Axel asked, sounding deadly serious suddenly.

"H-Huh?" I gave him a confused look.

Axel rolled his eyes and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "I mean about his confession...so will you answer back?" He looked at me seriously.

I thought about it for awhile...Terra _is _one of the best-looking boys in school...and I could kinda' tell that he's nice...but I don't know him very well and... "I really have no idea actually. I'm supposed to be unconscious right?" was the best answer I could give in order to avoid the subject altogether.

"Yeah well say that you were _awake _just now, what'll it be?" Axel was being kinda' persistent on this one...

I thought about it some more, and finally; "No. I would've definitely turned it down. _Nicely_." I added sternly, seeing the gleeful look on Axel's face. "I-I'm not really ready for a new relationship yet, _not after I messed up my last one_..." I added the last part as quietly as I could but somehow Axel seemed to have heard it.

"You've had a boyfriend before?" Axel inquired while digging his ear.

"Yeah, but I don't wanna' talk about it." I answered while swatting his hand away from his ear.

Axel merely shrugged and tactfully changed the subject. "...Does it hurt?" He asked quietly.

I looked at him quizzically, "I told you already, it hurts a bunch ha ha..." I chuckled a bit. "...And it's not _your _fault okay? So...don't make that look..." I cupped his face with my hands as Axel was shutting his eyes like he was hurt or something. It kinda' pains me to see him blaming himself like this. My forehead lightly touches his and I could feel the heat rising to my face from this little gesture. Thank God his eyes are closed!

He nodded silently and I smiled at him. Axel is kinda' cute when he's feeling sorry...well, _kinda'_.

"So will you be alright going back like this? I'll walk you back to the dorm if you want." Axel hurriedly offered, sensing his own weakness getting the better of him.

"You don't have to, I already have a date waiting for me outside." I giggled when he made a disbelieved face.

The curtains opened and Naminé shifted inside nervously. "U-Um, am I interrupting something...?"

Both Axel and I laughed as Naminé looked at us with a curious face.

* * *

The next few days past by with gossips circulating around the damages which had been wrought upon by Vanitas. Some said that they have seen him being dragged into the detention room and never to be seen again while others talked about how the athletics department have somehow managed to escape from being held responsible for this whole mess.

That's what I've heard from my friends anyways. I've been absent from school for about a week now and so has Naminé. Aerith had popped into the dorm every day to see how we're doing (bringing us fresh flowers from her mother's shop), Fang and Xion came the other day too, entertaining the both of us by playing Monopoly and having a sleepover (thankfully so, as we heard the unmistakeable sound of metal clanking in the dead of the night). Serah dropped by to say hello and told us that Lightning has been hospitalized (she was extremely worried of her sister's condition).

Roxas came by with the other two Musketeers (Hope and Ven) and was extremely relieved to see Naminé, although she mostly ignored him. Hope read a comic book out loud for us to hear and Ven gave Naminé a new set of paints, much to the girl's delight (He claimed they were extras from his art project). Cloud came with Yuffie and Demyx (Both who were forced to go to school, despite their broken body parts) and gave us his old hi-fi set, complete with the radio and the audio system and everything. Yuffie mostly raided my closet to check my outfits and Demyx played his guitar for our entertainment.

Xigbar, who initially despised his job of watching over me, had suddenly become a happier man as he was allowed to skip school on Terra's orders to 'take care' of me at home. He would come by every morning, sit in the reading room (didn't know we had one until recently) and read the daily newspaper. Of course he'd check on me every now and then while bringing tea (I kinda' suspect he's an English man!).

The only person who had never visited us was Axel. I had expected him to come crashing in every day but somehow... I kinda' missed the redhead. Cloud had mentioned that Axel was busy with a certain job he has at hand, given by the Headmaster. Speaking of jobs...I've missed the first week of _my_ part-time job and my boss Lulu wasn't happy about it. I've apologized countless times and had given her my word that I'll be coming in the first thing after I've gotten better.

"Hmm...At least I can walk again." I moved my toes a couple of times and stepped on the floor with both my feet. A tinge of pain tingled through my leg but it doesn't hurt as much as before. I happily jumped up and down and was rewarded with a HUGE amount of pain shifting throughout my whole leg.

"Owowowowow!" I yelped as I rolled on the floor. Why the heck did I do that?

Moments later someone knocked on my door and Naminé peered inside. "Umm, are you alright? Xigbar said he heard a girly scream up here..." The girl looked at me innocently.

"Well go tell him that I _am _a girl!" I mumbled tearfully while massaging my foot.

"Aqua said she's a girl!" Naminé shouted to the outside of the room and was responded by an "_Okay!"_ from the hallway.

The blonde-haired girl propped herself on my bed and stared at me blankly (somehow I'm used to her doing that already), then she took out her drawing book and started sketching furiously.

"Oh Naminé, what are you sketching now?" I said lazily while rolling myself on the floor. I feel like sloth these days since I've been absent from school, and the only thing to do was either watching TV or hear Xigbar's odd stories (the guy believes in UFOs for Kingdom Hearts' sake!).

"...Secret..." The young girl mumbled as she happily puts the finishing touch on her sketch.

I merely yawned and looked at the clock... It's only nine in the morning...

"This is _sooo _boring!" I grumbled and stretched my arms. "I wanna' go to school!" I continued to roll on the floor, which was joined by Naminé shortly after. The girl had taken to imitate many habits of mine (which I'm quite proud of ho ho!).

"What are you two doing this time?"

I paused and looked at the bedroom door. Kairi was standing there while scratching her head, possibly thinking of the reason why she found two girls rolling around on the floor.

"Jes' lolling around." I gave her a playful smile.

Kairi had been visiting me daily to pass me study notes (I've been missing a lot of classes quite frankly!) and being the Class Leader, she has a sense of duty to see me keeping up with my studies.

"Been out of contact from the outside world much?" Garnet peered inside from behind Kairi.

"Ugh kinda'..." I sulked and pretended to hide my face from them.

"And why is this room so dark? C'mon let's shed some light in here!" Kairi frowned and headed towards the window where she pulled the curtains open.

"No! Not the light!" I hissed and shielded my eyes from the blinding light.

"_Nooo_!" Naminé followed suit and pulled her shawl onto her face.

Garnet giggled at the sight and went to sit on my pink beanbag beside my bed (I love the squishy texture of that bag!). "You two sure get along well now huh?" She punched the beanbag a couple of times and adjusted her sitting position.

"Like sisters." I said happily and Naminé nodded in approval.

"Well don't go corrupting the girl like you did Yuffie." Garnet said sagely as she takes in the room's scenery.

"_Excuse me~ _I didn't corrupt Yuffie! She corrupted herself watching all those- never mind." I cut myself off seeing as Naminé was listening interestedly. NOT something you'd say out loud to an innocent kid!

"Oh and Mr. Highwind got you something, here." Kairi threw a wrapped box at me (which I magnificently caught with my free hand!).

I stared at the parcel and a thought suddenly hit me. "Hey, why aren't you two in _school_?" I gave a very accusing stare to the two girls.

"Skipped it." Garnet answered lazily as Kairi gave a nervous laugh in response.

"Uh, you're mum and dad won't be too happy about that would they Garn'?" I looked at the royal heir to Alexandria seriously. Her parents (aka the King and Queen) were really strict about proper upbringing and etc. Meaning that, what the hell is she doing right now?

"What they don't, and _won't_, know won't hurt them." The brunette said earnestly.

Kairi gave her a disapproving look as she sat on my bed. "I can see that Zidane's been influencing you a lot. We're only skipping school this time because of a _special _reason." She stressed the 'special' part especially thick and glanced at me sheepishly.

I just knew that it's something about _me_. Oh man, what did I do now?

"Yeah, _really special_." Garnet agreed and looked at me mischievously.

"Out with it. What is this reason, which I know involves _me,_ that you guys are talking about?" I rolled my eyes. The two of them were giggling like they caught some kind of disease and it was really beginning to bug me.

"_~somebody's got a date~" _Garnet said in a sing-song voice.

"Not really a date though." Kairi added, seeing the confused look on my face.

"Fine, _secret admirer_, whatever." Garnet snorted.

I was getting _really _confused here. Date? Secret admirer?

"Uh, did someone confess to me or something?" I was just shooting answers randomly here but had hit the mark when both of the girls nodded smugly. Oh dear...Terra didn't reveal to the whole school about him confessing to me did he?

"Mind giving me more hints guys?" Suddenly I found this conversation deeply interesting that I totally forgot Mr. Cid's gift.

"Well, apparently he's been looking for you since the first day you were absent and when I told him you weren't around, he left a bunch of flowers on your desk." Kairi began and I leaned closer to her so that I won't miss even a single detail. "He came back the next day though, and the next day, and the next day..."

"I get it, he came back every day!" I waved her off hurriedly so that she'd continue her story.

"Yeah anyways each day he left a bunch of gifts for you that your whole desk is filled with stuffs falling from em'. Mr. Saix wasn't too happy with that, so he gave you two days worth of detention to serve." Kairi continued.

Oh, that's swell! Getting a detention when it isn't even my fault! Why didn't he give it to the guy instead?

Suddenly I remembered a certain redhead who sits next to me... "Bet Axel didn't like it too." I whistled. I don't think he'd like anything that bothers him and what could be more devastating for a guy if not flowers and sweets and stuff just lying there next to them?

"You kidding me? Axel looked like Christmas came early for him. He's been skipping around the class every day humming '_Aqua's got a boyfriend~'"_ Kairi said cheerfully. I don't know what this girl is happy about but I'm definitely not! My own best friend backstabbed me (stretching it but he's as good as!) and is happy that a guy is giving me flowers?

As if reading my mind, Kairi smiled warmly at me. "I've never seen Axel this happy before Aqua, and I have you to thank for. He's always a bit...distant with the rest of us so I'm really happy about his changes, which is quite huge and again, thanks to you." Kairi looked at me appreciatively as I made a face.

Ever since the first day I met Axel (even during the time I hadn't officially known him) he had always been friendly and cheerful (although for most of the part I had been caught up in his pace...). I kinda' want to know the old Axel that everyone knew but now's not the time for that!

"So who is this guy anyway? Somebody I know?" I pressed on.

"It wasn't somebody _we_ know, that's for sure. He wasn't even wearing our school uniform now that I think about it..." Kairi frowned and went into a deep thought.

"I saw him once though, when he passed by the classroom. Dark hair, really spiky and quite good-looking too." Garnet recalled.

Their recollection on my secret admirer (is it really a secret anymore?) is kinda' vague...

"Well he did say it was for his 'beloved'." Garnet suddenly grinned.

"Oh _yeeaahh, _I remembered that~ shocked the whole class though, seeing as someone like Aqua could have been betrothed. No offense to you though." Kairi added hastily but she is one of the few people who knew of my face without my glasses.

"None taken. So did the guy give his name or something? And it's kinda' freaky that a total unknown dude would call me his 'beloved'...maybe he's a stalker." I shivered, remembering a certain psycho film I watched with Naminé, Fang and Xion.

"That would be kinda' scary though..." Kairi mumbled, seeing the potential harm in the picture. "Maybe we should report this to Headmaster Ansem..."

The conversation became much lighter after that, with Naminé finally able to join in as we talked about random T.V. shows and Xigbar showing up with a 'Monopoly' game in his hands. Still, I couldn't get the picture of the guy who gave me all those flowers...I know of a guy crazy enough to call me his 'beloved'...nah, couldn't be...

* * *

Day Eight since I've been absent from school and seriously I've been such a couch potato these days. My daily routine had consisted of waking up, eat breakfast, watch the tube, and bedtime (you can guess from the sequence that three quarter of the time is spent in front of the television...). Finally Xigbar has had it and kicked me out of the house this afternoon.

"_Get some fresh air out there luv', you've been cooped up in this Godforsaken manor too long. And don't come back until the Sun sets, you hear me?" _

Where the heck am I supposed to go then? My leg has been much better since but I still need a crutch to go around. I looked kinda' awkward holding that thing while lazing around town looking at stuffs (nothing much really).

I wore my sleeveless jacket again and the hood hung loosely at the back. I had difficulties wearing my jeans so I just put on my old shorts and sandals. Literally my whole body is still wrapped like a mummy so it's really hard to walk.

It feels weird not to have my glasses and hat around with me though. I lost them during the whole Vanitas mess and didn't really have the chance to go looking for them yet.

So now I have to deal with the townspeople muttering about my condition. A couple of kind old ladies even stopped to ask if I was abused by my parents at home.

I stopped by the 'Princesses of Light' where a haughty-looking Lulu greeted me but her eyes softened as she saw my state. We chatted a bit before I left the cafe as the number of customers increased.

After buying a cotton candy and a soda I sat on a bench in front of the stores and watched the townspeople passing by, each with their own agenda for the day.

I bit a small part of the delicious, soft and delectable floss and practically did nothing as time flies by. Well, Xigbar only said to get some fresh air, he didn't tell me to run a marathon or something...

"Ah, Aqua, is that you? Hey hey!"

I wheeled around to see Xion and Roxas waving at me.

Xion was wearing a baseball cap and an oversized jacket that made her look like a hip-hop girl while Roxas was wearing a white shirt and black jeans that suit his body figure.

I waved back at the two as they settled down around me (Xion sat next to me while Roxas crouched on the ground in front of us).

"Good to see you finally up and about." Xion said cheerfully.

"Thought we'd never see your face in broad daylight again." Roxas smirked as I made a face at him.

"It's not that I _don't _want to go out, it's just that...guess I didn't want to go out?" I finished confusingly as they both sighed. Why should I go out often anyways? Not like there's anything to do out here...

"Well it's a Sunday so you can probably see a lot of our schoolmates in town today. We just bumped into Serah and Ven at the bookstore just now." Roxas said casually as he tore some of my cotton candy and swallowed it in one gulp.

"What're they doing together?" I thought it was weird that it was just the two of them together...then again, _these two _made a weird pair too.

"Class assignment. Seems that Ven isn't really the artistic type and had to redo his art project or else Ms. Quistis is gonna' flunk him so Serah decided to help him out since they're in the same class and all." Xion answered, but I could see a little smile forming on her lips. The brunette must've thought the same thing I did; something's up _he he he_.

"Serah's together with Snow, so you girls better get that thought out of your heads." Roxas explained as he knew what the two of us had been thinking.

"Way to ruin our fantasy." Xion rolled her eyes. "I thought it'd be nice if Ven ends up with Serah. Both of them make a cute couple don't you think?" She grinned at me.

"Yeah they do look cute together but..." I remembered a habit of mine that I always do when it comes to couples, "Then we have to name them 'Venah' or 'Sertus', kinda' a weird combo." I waved my hand lazily.

"Where'd you get _that _name?" Roxas raised his eyebrows.

"You add 'Ven' from...well, Ven, and 'ah' from Serah and you'll get 'Venah'. As for the other one, you do the math." I explained as Xion giggled.

"Girls..." Roxas muttered and stood up. "Well, we should really get going Xi, wouldn't wanna' be late for the movie now would we?" He smoothed his jeans and looked at his watch.

I looked from the boy to the girl. They're watching a movie on Sunday, just the two of them?

"Xion is my childhood friend so don't get any ideas." Roxas said quickly.

Cripes, is this guy a psychic or something? I gave him an awkward laugh and the two went off after saying goodbye.

So now I'm all alone again! I resumed my activity of watching people passing by and after a few minutes... I got really bored and started staring at the clouds. If I knew it'd be this boring I'd have followed those two to watch that movie...whatever the show was about it couldn't be any more boring than this.

With that, I got up and again, dragged my feet to the shopping district.

* * *

I passed by a lot of the townspeople who were yet again watching me with concerned eyes and mumbles of reporting my condition to the local law enforcers. I hastened my steps as I did not want to stir up any unneeded troubles.

The shopping district is the more popular side of the town, what with shops of the kinds which one could ever imagine to be there and the town square where the local events are held every now and then. Colourful banners and streams of bright advertisement boards filled the street as the townspeople bustled around in high spirit. Judging by how they were talking to each other, I guess they had known themselves well.

The shops really caught my interest as I walked in front of them. I stopped in front of the pet shop as I looked inside the transparent mirror happily at all the cute puppies and kittens inside (somehow they remind me of a lot of people that I know!).

I pressed my face on the window to get a better look at a certain huge animal at the back of the store. It looked like a really huge dog but the weird part is its fur is a deep-dyed colour of red. It was lying on the floor peacefully while its tail moved left and right like a slithering snake. The more I look at it the more it looks less and less like a dog and more and more like a lion. What made me even more curious is the part where the shop owner seemed to _talk _with it and I thought it was normal at first (well, most pet owners always talks with their pets right? Even if we know that they don't understand what we say!) but my mouth dropped when it seemed to _say something back_ to its owner.

I wanted to look at it more when I was suddenly knocked harshly on the side and I fell to the ground, hard.

"Ouch!" I yelped as I had hit my bruised arm a little too hard on the ground and almost bit my tongue from the pain.

"Watch it...Who the hell taught you to stick your butt out in the middle of the damn road?" A gruff voice growled at me.

I grimaced and looked at the rude person who had knocked over me and immediately my insides churned with a little bit of anger and fear.

It was a man with really wild looking dreadlocks of a hair which (reminisce of Axel) was blood-coloured along with his beard. He was really masculine and wore only a black singlet with spiky metallic spikes protruding from his jeans. I couldn't see his eyes as they were covered by his bushy hair and he even wore skull-shaped earrings. The strangest part about him is his skin colour...it was oddly..._bluish_? Kinda' faint and pale...

I gulped involuntarily as one look at this guy tells me that his overall feature screams 'You better run or get bent!' He was giving me the same vicious look that Larxene had once given me (and seriously, it freaks me out a lot!).

"What? Got something to say?" He said leeringly although his face was blank and emotionless.

I wanted to retort back at his comment but something else caught my attention at the time. A stab of pain shot through my foot as I had forgotten all about it.

"Owowowowowow!" I yelped painfully as I grabbed my foot spontaneously and rubbed it. The pain wasn't uncommon, but I couldn't get use to it no matter how many times I felt it. It was like being shocked by electricity and then stabbed with hundreds of sharp knives.

"H-Hey! What the hell's the matter with you?" The thug suddenly panicked. He was probably surprised by my sudden action as it had attracted some curious glances from the crowd.

"M-My foot. I-I think I might have sprained it again..." I mumbled through gritted teeth.

The redhead squatted down and gruffly grabbed my foot. I yelped again and tried to tear away from his grip but it was too strong and I helplessly stayed there as he studied my foot.

"Again huh? You get hurt a lot?" He asked in the same gruff voice.

"Not really...It was getting a lot better these past few days but when you knocked me down..." My voice trailed away as I didn't want to spark any anger that he had. He mumbled something incoherently and suddenly he roughly grabbed my arm and pulled me up along himself.

"H-Hey!" I protested but he didn't let go.

"Right. Come with me. Need to get that fixed for cryin' out loud...Geez, unnecessary trouble...Beatrix is gonna' get pissed..." The redhead mumbles to himself as he dragged me to go with him...involuntarily I might add...

* * *

The redhead dragged me to the back alley where, almost everyone I know of (even Axel) had specifically warned me to never wander into. The alleyway was dark, damp and goodness to gracious, extremely filthy to the point where even rats scurried around openly without having to fear humans.

My stomach lurched as I studied the inhabitants of the place. They were the type of people who dad had once taught me to stay away from. They were your average, everyday seen in movies, common thugs.

They leered at me as I passed them but recoiled back once they caught sight of my apparent 'host'. Like vampires getting hit by sunlight, the other thugs hissed and lurched back into the shadows, a fair safe distance from the redhead.

"Umm, I don't think they like you very much..." I mumbled as I struggled to keep up with his pace (he was still holding my arm, mind you!).

"Them and the rest of the world bluey." He snorted, not really bothered by the glares he's been getting.

We reached a fork in the alleyway where I could see the left path leads straight to the outer rim of the town while the right path takes us deeper into the darkness. I kept my hopes up that he'll pick the left path but I was somehow ready for it when he turned to the right one.

After awhile we reached a clearing where I thought a small town like this couldn't possibly have. In here were a few propped up buildings in which I could interpret as clubs and pubs. The crowd was huge despite it being bright outside and none of them looked anything like the nice, smiling townspeople on the outside – these people looked like they could tear me apart with just one try.

"Ignore em'." The redhead said (I think he noticed how I was watching these people!) "They won't lay a finger on you." He assured me.

"H-How can you be so sure?" I somehow doubt him seeing as there are mighty lots of people who were bigger than him around.

"Because you're with me." He answered confidently. "Ah, looks like we're here..." He muttered.

We stopped abruptly in front of a crumbling shop which looks as if it has seen better days (The sign was still intact at least). The shop was named 'Save The Queen' (catchy name!).

The redhead gruffly knocked the door once and slammed it open.

"I'm back..."

I was really surprised when I see the interior of the shop. Despite its outer look which screams disaster, the inside was much more pleasantly comfortable. There were a lot of roses decorated in every inch of the shop possible and even the couch, sofas, tables and quite possibly everything is decorated with a rose theme. Maybe that's why this guy is scowling when he got in here.

"Is that you Amarant? Wait a moment I'm tending to some guests here..."

A few moments later a woman descended from the second floor and she gave Amarant a warm smile. The smile however, faltered when she caught sight of me. She shifted her eyes from me, then to Amarant, then finally back to me again (this time she was totally checking my whole body).

"_A-M-A-R-A-N-T!_" Her voice absolutely brimming with anger, her hair seemed to flare up like...well..._flames_.

Instinctively my body shifted backwards and I was kinda' surprised that this guy didn't even flinch (I mean, he was even yawning!).

"Before you get shit-up on my ass I'll tell you first all this is ain't my fault." The redhead stated as the woman had approached us and sized me up.

"Hmm...Well the wounds looked several days old so I guess you're not guilty this time..." She said it in what sounded like a proud voice.

Only when she was this close that I noticed she too was wearing a bandage wrapped around her right eye. Her hands were soft and delicate yet she still has a strong and firm grip (although it's much gentler than this guy here...).

"Kept my nose outta' trouble didn't I? But could ya' help out with her ankle? Think it's sprained." The redhead lazily answered back.

The woman looked at her companion sceptically as if she had heard him wrong. "_You_? Helping people out? My, do you have a soft spot for..." The woman gave me a meaningful look.

"Aqua." Guess she's wondering my name. "And no, we just met." I said surely. No way would _this guy _have a soft spot for me after hitting me!

"I owed her something, so I'm paying it back." He said dismissively and walked (well, more like strut) up the stairs.

The woman sighed and turned her attention back to me. "Well...Don't think bad of him will you? Amarant might be..._grumpy _but he's a real sweetheart underneath." She smiled (Wow does she look amazing when she does that! Waitaminute, I'm not a guy!).

She led me to the living room and I quickly sink into the nearest sofa.

"Ooh it's squishy." I said happily at the comfort of the place, glad to finally be able to sit down!

The brown-haired lady disappeared into the back room and moments later appeared with a bowl of ice and cloth. In a most ladylike manner (she practically seemed to have stop time when she bent down!) she gracefully bent down and began untying my bandages.

I yelped a bit from the touch but she held my ankle firmly (yet still gentle! Wow!). She frowned a bit when she saw the amount of swelling on it and let out a disapproving 'tut-tut'. Quickly she pressed some of the ice blocks onto the swelling and began wrapping it with the cloth.

"We'll need to decrease the swelling now don't we?" She said with a warm smile (Is she really the scary lady five minutes ago?) and I returned suit.

"Oh...forgive me I seemed to have forgotten my manners..." She said suddenly, as if she had done something inappropriate. "My name is Beatrix, I'm the caretaker and owner of this retrieval store 'Save The Queen'. I'm also a sort of parent for those two over there." She pointed towards the living room entrance.

My eye caught sight of two children who gasped when they saw me catching view of them for looking at me (I know, confusing isn't it?) and hurriedly hid behind the door.

Beatrix gave a small, feminine chuckle (She's _sooo _dreamy...Waitaminute, I am _not _a guy!) and "Vivi...Eiko, you guys don't have to be shy. Come and greet our guest." She called out to the two children.

"_B-Beatrix is calling for us. W-What'll we do?"_

"_Just go you dummy! She called you didn't she?"_

"_S-She called your name too Eiko!"_

"_Yeah but she called yours FIRST!"_

"_L-Let's go together! I don't wanna' go in there alone!"_

"_Tch, fine then you big baby!"_

Funny thing is, I heard the whole conversation despite the fact that they were whispering the whole thing. After some grunting and whining, two children appeared in front of us. They were both of about the same height (though they were kinda' short) but one was a girl while the other a boy.

"This beautiful young lady is Eiko Carol. She's six years-old but she's a lot more mature than all the girls her age." Beatrix introduced to me.

"Hey ya'! Pleased to meetcha'!" Eiko answered back brightly. Eiko had purple-coloured hair (Yeah, very rare colour indeed!) and a yellow ribbon on her head. She may be a girl but I can kinda' sense a lot of energy coming from this girl (And she's so darn cute! The ribbon makes her look like a cat!).

Beatrix smiled at the little girl and beckoned for the boy to come forward. "And this young man here is Vivi Orunitia. He may not look like it but this boy is brilliant in Ma- I mean, _neat tricks._" Beatrix added the last part rather hastily but I don't really catch what she wanted to say in the first place though so I just went along with it.

"U-Um, hello..." Vivi said meekly and hid behind Eiko. Vivi was garbed in a blue coat and wore a long, pointy hat (kinda' like the ones mages use! LOL!). He eyed me with nervous, yellow eyes and I waved back happily.

"Aww, they're _adorable_. Are they yours?" I sighed wistfully (they really are cute!).

Beatrix chuckled softly and shook her head. "No, but they are as good as mine. I've been taking care of them since forever." The two kids ran towards Beatrix and hugged her legs (Awwww...). She absentmindedly patted their head and shifted her attention to the ceiling. "Hmm...Amarant must've met our guests by now..."

As if on cue, a sudden noise was heard upstairs and a loud rumbling of items being thrown was prominent. I eyed the ceiling nervously but Beatrix merely sighed, as if she's used to it.

"Is that poopyhead fighting again?" Eiko said boringly while the rumbling sound grew louder.

"Don't call Amarant that sweetie, and yes I think he is." Beatrix answered, her eyes not leaving the ceiling.

"U-Um, shouldn't we be worried with...whatever's going on upstairs?" I asked unsurely. I mean, an earthquake is happening up there and these people are acting like it's just a little cool breeze!

The three merely chuckled at my words and shook their heads.

"That poopyhead is always like that, just leave him be." Eiko snorted. "C'mon Vivi, let's go play house! You can be the son and I'll be your mummy!" The little girl pulled her young companion's hand energetically and they ran outside the room.

"_B-But I don't wanna' be the son! I-If you're my mummy then you always boss me around!" _Vivi whined but Eiko seemed to just ignore him.

"Lively aren't they?" Beatrix said happily as she took some papers from her cupboard.

I nodded my head as the noise continued. "Are they always this energetic?" I asked as I heard the voice of Vivi whining from being bossed around by Eiko from the other room.

"They give an old, unwanted lady a sense of belonging and love that she never had...and a second chance in life." Beatrix answered, perhaps a little too melancholically, that she noticed her sad tone and quickly give me her winning smile again.

Maybe I hit a sensitive button here...I looked around the room for something to talk about (really need to change the subject here...) and my eyes caught the shop's name.

"O-Oh yeah! So umm... When you said 'retrieval store', what'd you mean by that?" I asked interestedly, focusing all my attention on the subject.

Beatrix raised her eyebrows at this question. "It's as I said Aqua dear, a store to 'retrieve' things. We, that is to say Amarant and I, take clients requests to recover their stolen items...among other things..." She trailed off.

"Like?" I nudged her to continue. It's not every day you'd get to hear something like this!

"Oh I don't know...like Amarant, for instance. He takes on bodyguard jobs for important people and all. On the other hand I... well I do this and that." Beatrix hesitated.

I was gonna' ask her more about it when;

"She beats people up. Best partner I ever had, that Beatrix." A voice sneered.

"Amarant!" Beatrix said, aghast.

"What? Nothing to be ashamed about, saved my hide a lot of times." Amarant snorted. He had his arms crossed in front of him as he leaned on the door.

Beatrix looked absolutely flabbergasted. I guess she didn't want _THAT _to be found out. Her cheeks were getting red and she gripped her dress tightly.

"Whoa, you must be really strong then!" I praised her but far from looking pleased, Beatrix grew a bright shade of red and pursed her lips.

Seeing Beatrix's reaction, Amarant turned his attention to me, "Got your leg fixed yet?"

I looked at my ankle to see the swelling had decreased a lot and it's a lot easier to move now. I lightly touched the ground with the foot and it stings a little, but at least I can stand now.

"I reckon I'll be alright." I walked around the room slowly, not wanting to upset the injured foot unnecessarily.

"Great." He said unconvincingly and went to sit beside Beatrix (who was still looking shocked).

"So did you three come to an agreement already?" Beatrix huffed and stared at Amarant.

"Nope. No deal." Amarant yawned. The redhead stretched his arms upwards and then took out a box of cigarette from his left pocket. He stuck one of the sticks into his mouth and rummaged the same pocket for his lighter. Before he could lit it however, Beatrix had snatched the cigarette from his mouth and threw it into the rubbish bin.

"You know the house rules, no smoking inside the house when the kids are around." Beatrix frowned at him.

"Gimme' a break..." Amarant muttered under his breath and groaned. Beatrix gave him a disapproving 'tut-tut' but he merely groaned louder.

It's funny, seeing these two together. Maybe they're... "Hey...Are you two..."

"We're not in a relationship." The two said in unison. Wow, talk about precise timing...

"She's like, a year older than me though it's just a difference of graduating high school earlier..." Amarant muttered again.

_THAT _is interesting news. "I didn't know you guys are high school students!" I was really surprised, given Amarant's personality and Beatrix's maturity. I thought they'd at least be college students...

"We go to Destiny High... at least, we _were_..." Again with the trailing off thing! Beatrix seemed rather amused _and _gloomy at the same time.

"That's the school I'm in! Which class are-?"

"You go to Destiny High?" Amarant cut me off sharply. He tensed up all of a sudden and studied my face apprehensively.

"Y-Yeah I do! I transferred here about a month ago." Did I hit another sensitive button here? Amarant is looking at me like he wanna' kill me or something...

"Then you must be familiar with those two blokes then." Amarant nudged his chin to the doorway.

I turned around and gaped as I saw two familiar figures standing side by side.

"_Axel?_" I said incredulously.

"_Aq-?" _Before the redhead could respond he was shoved aside by his brawny companion, who stumbled inside rather hurriedly, knocking over a footstool and fell face-first onto the floor.

"H-Hey! I can't believe you're here!" The Herculean boy said excitedly, staring at me with the utmost happiness.

"T-Terra?" My mouth dropped as I'm seeing the two least likely people to ever be together, much less be at the same place together, is gawking at me from the same direction!

"Oh dear." Somehow I could see that today might not be as boring as I thought it would be.


	7. Chapter VII: Aqua, 0 Days

Ya-haw! How's everyone doing in this not-so-eventful 2011? Actually I prefer uneventful as I've always had a knack with troubles during the start of the year. Nyway we're up to chappy seven! It really makes me happy sob*! And I would like to thank all you reviewers for making that happen! Sorry for the late updates though, kinda' getting lazy what with New Year's and all that... Thanks goes to all the people who had favoured this story (One's that put this story on their Favourite List!) Thank you allll sooooo much, it still makes my day y'know? Nyway this chappy will finally be premiering the one and only (duh* duh* duh*!) Zack! Ah well, he has little lines and stuffs but this chappy is where it all begins between the brunette and our lil' heroine here! As I've said before, I love getting reviews and also getting to know the PEOPLE who sent them (I consider you part of my family already if you did :P) be it compliments or flames, I enjoy getting both! Flame me if you want muahaha! Also a tiny spark between Axel and Aqua in this chappy that causes a rocky rock in their relationship! Read on to find out folks! Ya-haw! :P

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CHAPTER VII: Aqua, 0 Days

* * *

_Aqua_

_

* * *

_

_Oookkkaaayyy, _this situation is turning into a major pain in the butt. Everyone (and I mean _everyone_, including Vivi and Eiko) were all cramped inside the living room and it was so quiet that even the sound of water droplets dripping down the kitchen sink could be heard.

_One minute..._still quiet..._five minutes..._nothing again..._ten minutes..._finally Amarant purposely broke the silent with a really bad (meaning fake) sneeze. The whole room tensed up and all of us turned our attention to him.

"Don't look at me, you guys were being dead quiet. Don't get me wrong, I like quiet atmospheres but not this one." He snorted.

"Uhh, right." I agreed with him. I mean, I like it when it's a calm kind of quiet but this is the _tensed _quiet type.

Beatrix was looking at the wall as if it's the most interesting thing she had ever seen, Terra was stealing glances at me every now and then while twiddling his thumbs, and Axel was being oddly (_highly _odd) quiet (although unlike Terra, he was staring at me without blinking much).

"Why are you here?" Axel suddenly asked, looking straight at me yet again. He had his arms crossed and although he didn't look angry, I could sense some hostility in his voice.

"Um, uh...Amarant took me here..." I answered quietly. I knew Axel was angry, don't ask me how though, I just know he is. His eyes were totally reprimanding me! (I mean, he's looking at me like he wants to eat me!).

"And might I ask why did you follow him? Haven't I told you NOT to ever, ever, _ever_, go near the back alley?" Again, with the accusing tone and look!

"I didn't want to come here! I mean, he kinda' dragged me and I couldn't get away from him!" I had to defend myself right? I'm telling the truth here!

"Right, and I suppose you were too weak to fight back? You could've screamed or something, there were shitload of people around right?" Axel scoffed; _He actually scoffed at me!_

"_I-Am-A-Girl_" I said desperately. "Even if I screamed would anyone even come help me? I mean, look at the guy!" I pointed at Amarant, who waved lazily back. "And what's the big deal anyway? I don't think there's anything dangerous here!"

"That's exactly your problem. You don't _think_. You always let other people drag you around and then shit happens to you! This shop here's the only safe place in the back alley! You could've been robbed or kidnapped or- or-" Axel struggled to finish his sentence "-_something_." Wow, I expected something more than that...

"Well I wasn't." I crossed my arms. "I'm alright Axel, look." I moved my upper body around to make him see that.

"_You could've_." Axel hissed; _He hissed at me! _"If you think this world is all peachy and perfect then go live in your little fantasy world. If you won't listen to what I say then fine by me." He crossed his arms.

"A-Axel." I squeaked. What he said really stings! I don't live in my own fantasy world! I mean, why'd he have to- of all the things he could say- I mean...

"You're an idiot." He said with finality in his tone.

"W-What?" Did he just call me an idiot?

Axel didn't make any sign of hearing me at all. He wouldn't even _look _at me and he really had hurt my feelings now. I bit my lips and turned away. Why's he acting like this anyway?

"_F-Fine_." I tried to sound calm and I definitely won't let Axel see me crying because of his stupidity. "I-If I'm not needed here I-I'll just leave." _Stay calm girl, just say goodbye and bawl your eyes out back at home..._

"You're going already? But what about your leg?" Beatrix gave me a concerned look.

"I-I'm fine, the ice really helped a lot. I can walk now thanks." I smiled at the girl. "Thank you for your hospitality Beatrix...and you too I guess." I nodded at Amarant, who again gave me a lazy wave.

"You're going already?" Eiko whined. The purple-haired girl quickly grabbed my jacket by the hems. "I just got to know you! Play with _meeeee~_" Aww, she looks cute with the eyes and the tugging and all that.

"I'll come back again to play with you and Vivi soon kay'?" I patted her head.

"No you're not!" Axel interrupted as he gave his protest.

"-And that certain someone should butt out of _other people's business_." I said crossly.

I turned towards the door but suddenly a hand pulled my arm. I turned my head around to see Axel frowning at me (He's _waaaay _too close here!).

"You're going out there alone?" He said impatiently.

"What's it to you?" I harrumphed and looked away (take that! I can give you the annoyed look too!).

"Don't be stupid, didn't you listen to what I said before? There are a lot of thugs out there who'd love to get their mitts on you." He gripped my arm strongly that I couldn't pull away from him.

"So let them." I know I was being stubborn here but Axel was really starting to bug me. "Like you said, I should live in my own fantasy world right? Then there should also be a knight on a white horse waiting to save me out there." _Hey, it's every girl's secret fantasy to be saved by their knight in shining armour right?_

Before Axel could reply to that I roughly pulled my arm away and stormed off before he could try and stop me again.

I exited the house/shop and immediately the waterworks starts to break. _Stupid Axel. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid Axel! _I dragged my injured foot away as I cried silently into the alleyway. The funny looking people were looking at me funny but I couldn't care less.

I know that it was really stupid to cry over something measly like this but- it's _Axel_. He never told me off like that, or rudely and openly calls me an idiot. He's the sweetest guy I know and he knew, _he knew_ that I wouldn't come to this kind of place willingly yet he still picks on me like it's my own _stupidity _that gets me here in the first place.

_Stupid, stupid Axel..._

* * *

Funny how people (especially hardcore looking thugs) see a crying girl holding a crutch and looking really miserable could gain me a safe passage through the alleyway. Some were even sympathetic enough to give me a packet of tissue to blow my nose (_aww , _they're just a bunch of big, lovable sourpusses!)

The sky was red, signaling the time for sunset is coming soon. With no better way to end the day, I ended up sitting on the sand while looking at the sea alone. I had hugged my own legs while resting my chin on my knees as the sound of the waves accompanied me.

I didn't feel any better though as the reddening sky reminded me of that redheaded idiot. The wind was blowing gently across the beach and I heard footsteps approaching me on the almost empty beach.

"H-Hey."

I looked up to see Terra staring right above me. The brown-haired boy smiled nervously and ruffled his hair (Boys like to mess up their hair right?).

"Hey back..." I said quietly and turned back to stare at the sea.

"U-Um, mind if I join you...?" He was ruffling his hair even harder now (Nervous, maybe?) and stood behind me for awhile before I finally nodded.

Terra made a ridiculously happy face and sat next to me. He happily patted the ground and flashed me a toothy smile. However the smile faded as quickly as it came.

"What's wrong?" He asked with a serious a tone.

It was kinda' clichéd whenever a guy sees a helpless girl crying their 'manly' instincts to be masculine suddenly perked up, but just this once... I find it extremely tactful and nice of Terra to do so.

I sniffed and quickly wiped away any unsightly fluids that might have escaped my red nose. My eyes were sore from all the crying and I guess it was showing.

_Go with the usual answer_, "It's nothing..."

Terra groaned and face-palmed himself. "Really now, you're all alone on the beach, your hair's a mess, your eyes looked like you haven't slept in days, and your nose is totally red like Rudolph the Reindeer. If those aren't signs for agonizing hours of you crying yourself in despair I don't know what is."

"_Oooh, _that's impressive Sherlock." I whistled.

"I'm serious here." Terra groaned again.

"He he, I know." I chuckled a bit as the big guy pouted. "It's no big deal though, just a minor..._problem_." I told him.

"Axel?" _Wow, bulls-eye. _

"He's a big meanie." I sniffed.

Terra did a double-take and painfully tried to keep his face straight. "I-I s-see, that's a new way to put it. _Pfft._" He turned his face to the other side and I swear he's silently laughing right now!

"Hey!" I frowned at him. Wasn't he supposed to be a gentleman right now? Where are all the compliments and rosey-rose words that were supposed to come out of his mouth to comfort me?

"I-I'm sorry, it's just that that's the first time I hear you insult him." He chuckled lightly in front of me this time.

"I'm not insulting him...he just is _hmph_." I harrumphed. I knew that all this angry emotions I'm feeling against him is just because of what happened back at the Save The Queen. _Tomorrow I'll forgive him though, for sho'...if he apologizes that is._

"Glad you're feeling better." Terra said happily.

Only now that I noticed my tears have stopped. My chest feels lighter after letting that tiny feeling of anger out.

"Mmm, not just yet." I won't be satisfied with just this!

I stood up and after inhaling deeply I yelled out, "AXEEEEELLL YOU BIG DUUUUUUMMMMYYYYY!"

I held my hands up high into the air and jumped up and down while yelling the same thing over and over again.

"YOU BIIIIIIIG JEEEEEERRRRKKK!"

And again.

"YOU INSENSITIVE MOOOOOOOORRRRRROOOOOON!"

I screamed until my throat was parched. Man that felt good! I couldn't think of anything else that could make me happier than berating Axel at this time.

Terra let out a hearty laugh and I gave him a playful grin. Hey, the guy was the one who sparked the idea of doing this!

His face turned red and he avoided direct contact with my eyes.

"Y-You look cuter when you smile."

_Awww_, now that was just sweet! Probably, seeing as I don't get much every now and then. The only awkward thing now is that y face is prolly' as red as his.

I quickly turned away too and muttered an embarrassed, "T-Thanks."

"Y-You look good when you're frowning too b-but I prefer it more if you smile!" Terra added hastily.

"And what do you mean by that?" I look good when I'm frowning? Have I ever frowned at him before?

"Y'know...During the Spring Battle of the Bands...You looked really cool back then..." The muscled boy left his compliment hanging as he did the 'ruffle-his-hair' bit again.

"Oh..." Was all I could say. An image of me running away from the herculean boy suddenly came into mind. _And my brooch_.

I stared at Terra (He's still looking at the ground) and this time my mind was remembering the whole detail of the thrilling chase.

_He was right on my heels at that time...When I fell, he would've been what? Two, maybe three metres away from me. Maybe...Just maybe..._

It was too big a chance to pass up. "H-Hey Terra..."

Before I could even start a conversation however the brown-haired boy suddenly jumped up and flashed me the brightest smile I ever saw (He was even radiating! Literally!).

"You _know _my name!" He was positively beaming! (Again, _literally!_).

Again, it took me a while before I realize he never told me his name (in my alter ego form, as Kairi put it).

"Oh yeah...Well, you're pretty famous at school y'know? I mean, everybody knows who you are!" That was a total lie. He told me his name on the very first day I got to school, but I couldn't say that.

Terra's mouth opened slightly but he quickly changed from a happy face to a confused face, and again to a happy face!

"R-Really? _Naw_, I'm not that famous..." He mumbled, embarrassed.

I smiled at how humble the boy actually is. This could use some teasing _he he_... "How modest of you, _Mr. Popularity_, or is that just a catchy nickname?" I poked his shoulders as his face turned redder.

"N-No...W-Well...I-It's just a stupid name the guys from the basketball team gave me!" The boy looked like he was about to explode with embarrassment. _Just a lil' bit more and I'll ask about the brooch._

"So how come the whole school's calling you that ey'? Been showing off your awesome basketball skills?" I pressed on.

Terra was ruffling his hair harder than ever, with some "Um" and "Ah" sounds coming from his mouth. In the end, all he could manage to say was "_I'm gonna' kill Snow and Tifa after this_..."

I left him to his mumbling for awhile before I finally decided to ask him one of two of the most important questions buzzing in my mind right now;

"Um...Terra..." I began delicately, a sign showing a ceasefire on the teasing.

"Y-Yeah?" Terra perked up, although his face was still red.

"You remember the time when...uh...you chased me in the school hall?" I don't really want to remember that moment though but this boy could use some refreshment with his memories.

"Sure I do, that's the first time we officially met." He said without hesitation.

_Uhh, that is totally wrong boy! We met back when Larxene first threatened me remember? You saved me from that obnoxious bully... _I smiled at my own train of thought. No way would he ever realize that geeky, nerdy lil' Aqua is the very same girl he's staring at now (although I can't really see the difference between myself really).

"Not really but...when I fell down at one point of the whole...shenanigan...do you...happen to pick up an accessory or some sort?" Please, please say you picked something up!

Terra crossed his arms and scratched his chin thoughtfully before, "As matter of fact, I did."

BINGO!

"R-Really? Um...Does it happen to be a light blue-coloured brooch?" Now please tell me it is!

He made a thoughtful look and nodded.

YES! Oh Sweet Mother Nature my brooch is found!

"U-Um, actually the brooch is mine. A _really _important item if you must know." I couldn't control my excitement, I could totally imagine him taking it out of his pocket right now.

"You mean this lil' thing?"

My eyes flickered up and down, following the small, delicate piece of jewellery that the muscled boy had took out and was throwing it into the air and catching it over and over again.

Without thinking I lunged at the boy and quickly tried to swap the brooch away.

"Wai- What? H-Hold on a sec! C-Calm down!"

I wasn't really listening as we stumbled down onto the sandy beach and began rolling on the ground.

"Gimme'! Gimme'!" No way am I letting it out of my sight again! Come to momma' broochy!

We rolled around until we reached the seawater and I began clawing at him for the piece of jewellery.

"I-Said-Calm-Down!" Terra growled and with superior might, he grabbed both my arms and pushed it onto the ground where my nails (which are quite sharp) couldn't reach anywhere near his face.

"What's with you? _Pant*_ Why'd you go all crazy like that?" Terra panted while trying to catch his breath.

_It's my brooch! It's mine, it's mine, it's mine... _

"It's mine and Zack's." I heard myself telling him. Before I knew it, memories began to flood my brain and I relived every moment I've ever been with that guy right in front of my eyes.

"Zack? Who's that?" Terra asked in a confused voice. However his mouth dropped as he looked at my face. "H-Hey why are you crying again?"

I couldn't control it. I didn't know why I cried in the first place. The tears just automatically started to flow as I bit my lips and sobbed.

"_Uuuhhh_, t-that b-brooch is m-my only l-link to Z-Zack. G-Give it b-back! _Sob*_" I was sobbing, stuttering and totally sounded like a whiny brat but I couldn't care less.

I don't want to lose any link I might have with that guy. I don't want to lose the memories I have. I don't want to forget it even if it's ended. _I don't wanna' lose you Zack..._

* * *

"H-Hey c'mon now, I said I was sorry..." Terra mumbled an apology for like, the _thousandth _time.

I sniffed as he patted my back nervously, afraid any wrong actions could cause my tears to flow again. Cautiously, he took out the brooch again and held it in front of me.

"...Is it that important to you?" He muttered quietly.

I tried to snatch it again but he pulled it away from my reach.

"Uh-ah, not just yet."

"Aww, c'mon~ If you don't give it to me I'm gonna' cry again!" I whined as I tried to grab it again but Terra held it out of my reach.

"Don't be such a baby." Terra smirked. Clearly he's enjoying the attention he's getting from all this.

"Look I'll make you a deal. I'll give you this brooch back if..." His voice trailed off (seriously, what is with people and leaving their words hanging? Do they think it's cool or something?).

"If _what _exactly?" I was pushing against his shoulders now but man is he tough!

Terra hesitated for a while and looked at me straight in the eyes. "If...You tell me who Zack is...and what's he to you."

I froze on the spot as I stared back into his eyes. He was being dead serious about this (OMG!) and I didn't notice his free hand had somehow slithered towards _MY _free hand. I quickly pushed him away but our eyes were still locked onto each other.

"Why'd you wanna' know about him?" Truth be told it was kinda' puzzling why Terra wanted to know about Zack anyways.

"Just curious." Terra shrugged. "So do we have a deal?"

I studied him for awhile. Other than wanting the brooch back desperately, there's another thing that's been bugging my mind... "I'll tell you about Zack if you give me my brooch back and...If you'd tell me why you were with Axel inside Save The Queen just now."

There! That's what's been bugging me all this time! Terra frowned at me, as if considering the deal and; "Deal. Now start talking."

He pocketed the brooch (much to my displeasure) and rested himself underneath a Paopu tree while resting his arms behind his head.

"You can lie down here if you want." He smirked again and nodded at his lap. Urgh, where did this sudden flair of confidence come from?

I shoved him aside and sat down next to him while hugging my own legs.

"Well...It all began back in my last year in Departure Middle School..."

* * *

_I was a senior in Departure Middle school, the school where all the 'in' crowds and aristocrats enrolled._

"_Woo~ So you're something like a princess?"_

_Nooo~ Let's just say that my dad's a pretty rich guy...and I'm not...at least I used to pretend I'm rich too..._

"_I don't get it."_

_Well you won't if you keep interrupting my monologue!_

"_Sorry, please continue O' Highness."_

_Hmph. Anyways I was a pretty snobby girl back then. You can imagine right? Having all that money and mixing in with all the 'elites'. I soon became just like the jocks in this very Destiny High today._

"_Hey!"_

_What'd I tell you about interrupting me?_

"_Sorry."_

_Anyways I figured I got my life planned out for me. My grades were perfect. I was in the student council AND was the student council president. Everyone in school envied me (no exaggerations here!) and I was the apple of my dad's eyes. I was ready to enrol into Departure High too, where I'd resume my studies and go into their exclusive university in the future. _

_As simple as that, my life's entire plan had been written out for me, courtesy of my dad. He was proud of me, proud of my snobbish behaviour, proud of the air of superiority that I showed to the other students...proud of the monster that he had created._

"_Y'know, I don't really get all these metaphors you're giving out..."_

_Sigh* Never mind...Just listen kay'? I'm getting to the important part here._

_Y'see, I wouldn't have changed my ways for anything. My routines, my behaviour, my lifestyle. Not one bit if I hadn't met that guy..._

* * *

_Aqua Days: File 03_

_

* * *

_

"Excuse me! Miss Aqua!"

I turned my head as I heard my name being called. It was Ms...Something or other, I forgot her name but she was the English teacher for my class. _Always be polite with the teachers..._

Immediately I faked a cheery smile and bowed a bit. _Why'd I have to bow down to her anyway? She's a nobody compared to me in a million different categories hmph._

"How may I help you Miss?" I put on my most delicate tone and gave her the most fake/most believable smile I could ever put up.

Ms. Something smiled back at my (not so) politeness. "Oh you're such a well-mannered girl! If only I had a daughter like you..." She said enviously.

_Tch, not in a million years... _

"Anyway I have a request for you sent by the Headmaster. It seems that we have a last minute transfer student enrolling into our school today and he would like you to show the new student around as you're the student council president and all..."

"A transfer student? This late in the season? Why, the term has almost ended. Why would the Headmaster be accepting transfer students now?" _Had the old fart finally gone senile?_

"Well...It seems the boy was a special case." She suddenly drops her voice into a whisper. "I heard rumours that he was in those special experiments the school had funded for...the what-do-you-call-em'...oh yeah! SOLDIER."

_SOLDIER...That rings a bell. Daddy had once funded a company that was experimenting on making new genetically enhanced soldiers using Mako infusions..._

"So is that boy a part of the experiment?" Hmm, I wonder?

"Maybe...but I'm not sure. Best be on your way to the school gates now Miss Aqua. The new boy will be here soon! Make sure to give him a really good tour, make our school proud!" With that, the English teacher waved her hand and trotted off.

I ran my fingers along my luscious long hair and huffed at the task given to me now. _Great, extra chores to do...what a bummer. I'd wanted to go to the library to see if there are any new books in today..._

I turned around and made my way across the school garden. It was a shortcut that the seniors had grown accustomed to use to get to the school gates quickly. I passed by a few of the other students and waved at them lazily as they bowed and greeted me.

In front of the school gates was an extravagant parking lot designed by a famous architect meant for the faculty members (students aren't allowed to drive as we're not of age). I ordered the guards to open the gates and waited for the so-called SOLDIER boy to appear.

I sat down on the gold-plated bench (also designed by the architect!) and waited patiently. Minutes past by and finally the school bell rang, signaling the end of that particular period.

"_An hour_? I've missed an hour's worth of class? And not to mention he's not even here yet! What's he thinking, making me wait like this? Who does he think he is-"

"Oit there! You the Prez'?"

A rude, loud voice rang through my ear, cutting me off my ranting. I panted and stared at the source of the voice.

A boy, about the same age as me was standing in front of the gates. He had jet-black hair and the rowdiest, spikiest hair I've ever seen. His eyes were electric blue, a sign that confirms me this _is _the SOLDIER boy I've been waiting for.

_Look at him! What's he wearing? Are those slippers? And that smell! Ugh, has he not taken a bath in months? _The more I looked at him, the more repulsive I get. However, he does have a good-looking face...

_No Aqua! Don't be swayed by his looks! Just get through this as calmly as possible, and then avoid him for the rest of the term._

Spontaneously I gave him my usual smile (extremely hard to do so at this point) and smoothed the hems of my school uniform.

"Why, yes I am. My name is Aqua...and might I believe you are the transfer student I'm supposed to meet?" _Just put on the smile for an hour or so Aqua and you can go back to class..._

"Is that a smile?"

That question caught me off-guard. I stared at the boy (my mouth was still smiling BTW) who was making a confused look (with the eyebrow cocked and frown and all that).

"O-Of course it is." _Calm down girl, it's just a totally random question. _"Why would it be anything else?"

The brunette made a face of deep concentration and swerved his head to the left and right, as if deep in thought. "Well...You're faking it right?"

Ouch. One more point goes to Captain Obvious.

_How can he tell? Was it because my smile wasn't convincing enough? Maybe I should put in more effort into it._

I gave him the biggest, widest smile I've ever made (which took a lot out of me) and, "Why would I be doing that?"

At this point the boy bursts out laughing. "Ha ha, y-you should probably look in the mirror right now! You look like you want to kill someone!"

I was totally shocked. What is with this guy? "So you're not convinced then?" I totally dropped my whole persona down. Clearly he's not buying it and I'm not about to waste my time doing otherwise.

"Not one bit." He returned my gaze. His electric blue eyes stared into mine while his face was showing a youthful smile. "Well, this face looks more natural on you."

"I'm used to doing so." I harrumphed. My eyes narrowed down to slits as he continued giving his idiotic winning smile. _The first time I got caught..._

"What? Frowning at people and looking at them like they're some kinda' bug?" The brunette then did the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. _He was doing squats!_

"Most of the time, and what _are _you doing there?" I asked incredulously.

"Training." He grunted, going up and down. "I wanna' make it big in SOLDIER so I hafta' train hard now so that I'll be a First-class some day!" Again with the refreshing, youthful smile.

"So you _are _in SOLDIER?" That part was what I was most curious about. He looks so young...why'd he signed up for the army anyways?

"Yes I am. Blooming protégé of Angeal (The one and only) First-class SOLDIER and I am Third-class SOLDIER Zack Fair at your service!" He introduced himself (still doing squats BTW).

"_And Third-class is all you'll ever be~" _I said acidly.

His smile falter and he stumbled down from his squats. "_Heyyy, _that's mean!"

I gave him a sinister smirk as I looked down on him. "Realistically speaking you must be in over your head if you'd expect to make it into First-class with that kind of attitude. A First-class must always be mature, be ready for anything, be on constant vigilance, and above all; _strong. _Both mentally and physically, which I can see you lack both." I relayed to him the information in a matter-of-factly tone.

"You sure know a lot about us though." Far from looking dejected, he looked downright amazed at my extensive knowledge of SOLDIER.

"My daddy is one of the sponsors for your little experiments. I read the files on everything there is to know about SOLDIER...mostly." I said in a snobby tone.

"Do you read a lot?" Another random question.

"Anything I can get my hands on." For the first time I was actually pleased with his question. I'm quite a bookworm, always itching to get my hands on any new novels that reached the bookshelves of the local bookstore or the library.

"So what kinds of books?" Zack wasn't really concentrating on his squats anymore, rather, he was focusing all of his attention on me. "C'mon, you can tell me." He nudged on.

"It's not a secret or anything." I said, annoyed. "Books in general. Non-fictions are for knowledge but..." I hesitated to go on. Would he laugh if I told him more? Ah, what the heck. "...fictions are really good too, like fairy tales such as Cinderella and Snow White. They taught children that even dreams can come true right? Something like that, it gives hope and also longing for our dreams to come..._never mind_." I stopped hastily. I realized I've said too much. _Now he's going to laugh...C'mon just laugh..._

"Yeah I know right!" ...Was his response. "I mean, I never read stories like that much cuz' the guys in SOLDIER would laugh at me but when I was younger Angeal used to tell me those stories. He'd always say to me-"

"Hold it." I stopped him mid-way. "A SOLDIER believing in fairy tales? Are you for real?" I looked at him incredulously.

"What's wrong with believing? Fairy tales are sources of dreams. Like you said, it teaches us that even the smallest of dreams can come true. I believe in lots of things, that's why I always hold onto my dream of becoming a First-class SOLDIER! And my other dream is-"

"Save it, it's getting late and I need to give you the tour around campus before the dismissal bell ring so let's get moving." I cut him again and spun around to the school ground.

Zack hung his shoulder low and followed behind, mumbling all the way about "...dreams" and such.

* * *

"See you girls soon _tee hee_." I giggled and waved at the couple of girls who had just invited me to a party on _their _daddy's airship.

Zack was watching the whole conversation with his mouth hung open. I bet he's impressed by how professional I handle these kinds of things _ha_!

"How can you lie like that?" Zack sounded surprised. I mean, I wanted him to be surprised, but not because of _that_!

"Seriously, you should pay attention on _how _I talked to them. The delicate tone, the most convincing smile in the universe, the hand gestures, the facial expressions and even my body language! Talking to people is just like acting and memorizing a script, my lil' SOLDIER boy." I gave him another smirk as he shook his head disapprovingly.

I showed him where the Headmaster's office is, the faculty office, the classrooms, lecture halls, school hall, sports field (Zack was practically beside himself when he saw the football team), the cafeteria, and last but not least, the school's very own Sage Tree.

A humongous and very old tree was rooted at the top of the hill inside the school campus that shadowed the school garden. Its height reached even the castle of the Land of Departure.

"It's freakin' huge!" Zack yelled out, running towards the tree at high speed.

"Don't trip over the roots!" I warned him as I carefully made my way to the tree.

"Hey Aqua! What's the name of this tree?" Zack asked as he attempted to climb the said tree.

"It's name is the 'Colin Tree' or better known as the 'The Sage Tree'." I answered him, sitting next to one of the roots.

"Why's it called that?" Zack inquired further, still trying to climb said tree.

"Do you know that back during the first war that ever impacted this world, mankind was driven to a point of near extinction? All signs of greenery left the world due to the toxin spread by the weapons of mass destruction. Having lost all hope and faith, they sought out their own places to die after the war since there were absolutely no chances of bringing the world back to its usual splendour. But one man refused to give up, and he searched far and wide for a way to save the world. Finally he came across this land and found a single form of life that is still green and fresh. It took him a long time, but he finally was able to make the plant bloom. In the course of his battle however, he lost his most dearly beloved. Mourning over the lost of his friend, he named the tree over her name and built a castle nearby, where he could watch over the plant forever more." _Perfectly memorized word by word from the History book._

I looked at the brunette expectantly, hoping to see his yet again amazed face at how extensive my knowledge is. However the boy was nowhere to be found.

"_Aqua! Hey, Aqua!" _

My eyes grew wide as I looked up the tree. The boy had climbed halfway up the tree just by clawing at the bark!

"Zack!" I yelled the boy's name, standing up and fidgeted on the spot. "Get down right now! You're gonna' fall and hurt yourself!" _What's worse, I'll be the one to blame!_

"_Relax! I'm fine ha ha!" _As soon as the laughter escaped his mouth the tree bark he was clawing at splintered into pieces and he was already falling.

I screamed as I imagined Zack plunging to his death. "ZAAAAACCCCKKK!" I ran towards the boy. _Maybe I could catch him before he falls!_

However in my rush I forgot to heed one of my own warnings and tripped over one of the overgrown roots.

"ZACK!" I yelled again. I heard a loud _'thumph'_ and didn't dare to open my eyes.

_Oh Damnit...He's dead, he's dead, he's dead._

I covered my eyes with my hands to avoid seeing all the blood...and a mutilated body.

_Keep calm girl. When the faculty members come just tell them that you had nothing to do with it and that he fell on his own. Just make sure you don't screw up and-_

"That was pretty tall wasn't it?"

I jolted and immediately opened my eyes. _Zack! _The boy was standing in front of me with that big, stupid smile of his. He looks unscathed though...how?

"SOLDIER training." Zack answered, as if reading my mind. "I could do lots of other cool moves for you if you'd want. Only next time, keep your eyes open huh?" The boy let out a youthful laugh.

_I-can't-believe-him_.

I quickly stood up and venomously glare at the boy. Without warning, I slapped him hard on the cheeks. The boy stumbled aside as I walked past him.

"If you ever do something like this again...I will _castrate _you, do you hear me?" I said acidly.

"A-Aqua..." The boy was really surprised.

"Never appear in front of me again! Disappear!" I hissed. I gave him the evil stare, whipped my head (my luscious blue hair flowing like smooth silk ho ho!) in an elegant manner and stormed off, leaving the befuddled boy behind.

* * *

"_So that's how you guys met?"_

_Yup, a really sweet, romantic start wouldn't you think? And I was really nice towards him too._

"_I dunno'...sounds like you were a real bit- I mean, cranky."_

_Well I have to admit waiting for the boy for a whole hour kinda' pissed me off. And he had to do that prank too, which was really childish._

"_...Did he really make a cartwheel and a 360 degrees spin in mid-air?"_

_Well he told me he did, but that's kinda' skipping ahead into the story though._

"_...Right... (I'm hitting the Yoga classes after this...)"_

_But the more I remember about that time, the more pissed I get! Why the heck would he try to climb a branchless tree in the first place? Is he in over his head or is all SOLDIER like that?_

"_Guy prolly' tried to show off. Anyways was your hair really long back then?"_

_Yeah, kinda' like Tifa's, only not as straight. Mine's got pointy spikes protruding from each side._

"_Interesting. So what happened after that?"_

_I stayed away from him after that. I was really angry and I didn't really want to see his face. I kept wanting to hit him in the face again whenever I see em'._

"_You must be a really violent girl in Middle school..."_

_On the contrary, I'm the only student who has a clean record throughout the year and has never been involved in any bullying or violent activities._

"_...You sound like a telephone manual."_

_Y-You're the one who asked! A-Anyways even when I tried to avoid him, the boy always seemed to be there wherever I go!_

"_...And here comes the monologue."_

_Here comes the monologue._

* * *

"Aqua! Hey Aqua!"

My heart skipped a beat (not in _THAT _romantic way however) and I turned around to see Zack waving his hand at me.

The brunette swiftly made his way towards me and had me in a headlock in a second.

"_Oof _what are you doing? Unhand me!" I yelled and tried to push him away but he merely laughed and ruffled my head with his knuckles playfully.

"C'mon, don't be like that! We're friends aren't we?" Zack said in what he calls a friendly tone.

I was finally able to escape from him and smoothed my hair properly. "I don't know what gave you that impression but clearly you're wrong! And didn't I tell you to stay away from me?" I frowned at the boy.

Zack pulled an innocent face and shrugged. "I would've...but I dunno' anyone else from this school and I forgot where the classrooms are. We're having the same classes' right? Isn't the Prez's job to help new students get around?" He grinned at me.

Ugh, can't argue with him there. "F-Fine, but after this you better stay away from me!"

...

"Aqua! Hey Aqua!"

It was lunch break and I nearly choked on my spaghetti as I heard the familiar, annoying voice calling my name.

Zack ran towards my direction (dodging students carrying their food tray while doing so) and jumped into an empty seat next to me.

"Hey there." Zack said happily while observing my tray. "You on a diet? You don't have much food in your plate." He stated.

"_I thought I told you to stay away from me!_" I hissed under my breath (wouldn't want the others to hear me now do I?).

"Yeah~ but the thing is I dunno' how to order the food and where to get the tray and I'm getting _reeeaaalllyyy _hungry so I thought I'd ask you." He said in a sing-song tone.

I clenched my fist as I frowned at the spiky-haired brunette. "F-Fine...but I'm warning you! If you appear in front of me again so help me I'll _exorcist _you!" I warned him as he happily nodded.

...

"Aqua! Hey Aqua!"

All the books I'm carrying in my arms fell as I shut my eyes in pure agony.

_Why? Why is he doing this oooh..._

The brunette was highly energetic in the morning and this has been about the _millionth _time he pops up in front of me this month.

"...What is it this time Zack?" I asked the boy in a quiet voice while bending over to pick up my books.

This one whole month he has been showing up randomly (and constantly I might add) with all sorts of request. It started out with simple requests like directions to the science lab and such but it turns more and more tedious like 'going for a jog with me', 'time my lap', and 'be my folkdance partner'. Seriously, I'm gonna' crack soon from all these stupid things and to top it all off I got exams and student council work to do!

I totally gave up on the whole "never appear in front of me again!" cuz' whenever I said that he keeps on popping up around me even more.

"Are you free after school?"

...That caught me by surprise. First time he actually asked me if I was free or not.

"Maybe...Why?" I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. Was he planning on something more outrageously stupid this time?

"Cool. Meet you at the Colin Tree right after the dismissal bell kay'? Don't be late!" Zack said energetically and waved goodbye as he ran ahead towards his locker.

"Wait I didn't agree to- Ugh, never mind!" I shouted back at him but he had already disappeared.

I slammed my locker shut and banged my head several times on it. "Oh damnit..."

* * *

After the dismissal bell I grudgingly dragged my feet towards the Colin Tree and lo' and behold, the boy was already waiting for me there (I got here pretty quickly, so does that mean he's been skipping classes?).

Catching sight of me, the boy whipped out his dazzling smile (it kinda' grew on me) and waved his hands frantically, like his hair was on fire or something.

"Aqua! Hey Aqua!"

"Quit it with the 'Aqua, hey Aqua' thing would ya'? You sound like an alarm clock when you say it..." I muttered as I accepted his hand.

"Aww, I know you like it when I call you like that." He said as I playfully punched his chest.

Truth be told I've gotten accustomed to having Zack around so much that it became from total obsoleteness to a change in my daily schedules due to having to fit him in my daily routines.

"Yeah well because of you I became extremely twitchy whenever someone call me like that." I harrumphed as he led me further up the hill.

"Why would you be twitchy I wonder? And no worries, I can safely say that I'm the only one that calls you like that." Zack winked as he said that.

"How can you be so sure?" I humoured him.

"Cuz' I stalked you every day." He said matter-of-factly.

...That's kinda' a mentally disturbing statement...

We were at the top of the hill where the whole town could be seen (even the castle!) and the wind was so strong that I was getting chilly just by standing there.

"Here." In a gentlemanly sort of way Zack took off his football jacket (yes, he joined the football team about three weeks ago!) and wrapped it around me.

"T-Thanks." I stuttered, my teeth chattering all the way.

Zack gazed into the scenery with a mature look on his face (still smiling BTW) and for the first time since I've met him he looks..._handsome_.

I blushed furiously at the thought and quickly turned away before he'd notice it. _Girl don't delude yourself. This guy is totally not for you!_

I went over my thought bitterly, admitting the fact that I might've had a teeny-weeny crush on the brunette but after ruling out all the pro's and con's...it's better if we just remain..._acquaintances._

_He's in SOLDIER for Kingdom Hearts' sake. Those guys get killed every day because of the things that they do (like going to war and etc.). Besides, he's not even worthy of me... He's just a common folk after all..._

I snorted at my last thought. I'm never really the type to judge people based on standards. I know what people call me behind my back (Ice Queen, Drama Queen, wutevs!) but I am NOT a judgmental person.

He annoys me, a lot. Almost always to the point where I wished I didn't have any reputation to live up to and just strangle the boy in the middle of the school hallway.

_Yet he's the only real friend I got._

There, I admitted it. I've never had a real friend (Unless you count my cousin Yuffie, but she puts up with me cuz' she's family) and I always rejected any boys' invitation to go out on a date (be it on their yacht, airship, etc... I couldn't care less). The way I really treat people makes me pretty much a lonely person.

My feelings for Zack are purely of friendship. Nothing more, nothing less.

"S-So why'd you want to meet up h-here?" I asked him.

The boy turned his attention back to me (still smiling! _Oooh..._) and his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Well...to tell you the truth...I've been doing some reading of my own these past few days."

"WHAT?" Now that's shocking news! The boy is practically all muscles in his brain! He, not in his entire existence in Departure Middle School, has ever held a book in his hands for more than two minutes!

"Yup I did." Zack answered proudly.

I had still not gotten over the shock. I mean, Zack? Reading? Has Hell freezes over? Had Zack gotten promoted to Second-class? All of these could be the possibility why he's acting out of character!

"W-What about?" Seriously if it's about English or anything about the world leaders I'm going to scream my head off.

Zack didn't answer right away. He lightly holds me around my shoulder (which now sends jolts to my body) and directed me towards the Colin Tree.

"Do you remember the first time we came here?" The brunette asked me casually, his eyes staring at the tree.

"Don't remind me, I still want to slap your face more for that stupid stunt." I grumbled and clenched my fist.

"T-That's not the part I'm referring to!" He said hastily as he waved his hands in front of his face. "A-Anyways back then you told me a story right? About how the tree got its name?"

I racked my brain for awhile and finally remembered, "Oh yeah...It's in the History textbook right? Did you read about that?" If he read about the Colin Tree then that wouldn't surprise me much...

"Uh-huh." Zack nodded. "But what's got me really interested is about the _guy _who named the Colin Tree. If I remembered correctly you never mentioned the guy's name."

"Didn't think it mattered at the time..." I mumbled.

"As you may well know the castle over there got its namesake from the very same man who named the Colin Tree..." Zack stated.

"Ipsen." Both Zack and I said in unison.

"So what about that guy? I already know his background... Adventurer, Merchant, later on he was a Hero to the world right?" I recalled what I've learnt from the History book.

"Yeah well from what _I've _dug up from the SOLDIER's archive there was something more..." Zack's voice trailed off as he looked at me.

Something more? Something else besides what the History book taught us? Oh damnit! That _is _news!

"W-What is he then?" I couldn't contain the excitement from my voice.

Zack smiled again from my curiosity and continued, "He was a scholar. A man of poetry and stories. He loved to write all of his little adventures in his notebook and one of them could be the very origin of the name 'Colin Tree'."

"I thought History dictates he named it after his friend?" I said curiously.

"He did, but before that...who is Colin? How'd she came to in the first place? Well Ipsen had written a piece of that story with him too and if you're interested I could tell you-"

"YES!" I interrupted him and quickly sat on one of the tree's roots.

Zack chuckled a bit and inhaled, readying for the story.

"Ipsen and his good friend Colin worked at a tavern in Treno (A town near Alexandria). One day, Ipsen got a letter. The letter was so wet from rain that most of the writing was illegible. The only part he could read said, 'Come back home.' (Back then was the first war so that was prolly' the reason for the letter). Nowadays, we have airships and stuff, but back then, it was really hard to travel. (War innit'?)"

I listened intently to his story (aside from his own side-notes but it was rather interesting). "What's next?"

Zack smiled again and continued, "He didn't know why he had to go back, but he got some time off, gathered his things, and set out on his journey home. He walked a thousand leagues through the Mist (One of the most dangerous continent in the world). Sometimes he was attacked by vicious monsters, but he made it, because his friend Colin was by his side."

"So Colin was with him the whole time? So what happened after that?" I asked interestedly.

"I'm getting there, hold on..." Zack said understandingly. "And then, after much time on the road... He had to ask Colin something: _"Why did you come with me?"_"

At this point, Zack grew quiet and turned around. He was ruffling his hair nervously and was really, really quiet.

"What?" I grew impatient. "What'd she say? Zack!" I got up and had my hands on my hips.

_"Only because I wanted to go with you" _He said.

Well I got my answer right there. Zack had turned around and was looking at me seriously. I however, didn't notice his gaze and was relishing on that very information.

"So...Colin had been going through that dangerous journey together with Ipsen because she wanted to go with him...but what was her motive? Why did she want to go on that journey with him? Was it because of Munny or..."

"It's because she loved him." Zack said quietly.

"H-Huh?" My train of thought stopped as I looked at Zack.

Suddenly everything went quiet. The wind, the rustling leaves, and even the sound of the students at school had suddenly gone mute. The only sound I could hear now is what my heart is making (It's beating too fast damnit!).

"Colin loved Ipsen, and he probably loved her back." Zack continued, making his way closer to me. "Don't you ever wonder why Ipsen named the plant he found the 'Colin Tree'? It was because he was mourning the lost of his dearly beloved...the woman he cherished above all others. That story proved the fact that she was head over heels for Ipsen..."

I took a step back as Zack approached me. _T-This is all getting way too unrealistic to me! _My heart was beating like mad and my face is probably flushed with red colour by now. _H-How come the way Zack told the story was like a confession?_

Before I knew it I had my back pressed onto the tree and I had nowhere else to escape. Zack's face was so close to mine right now that I could smell the shampoo he used on his hair this morning! He held his left hand towards the tree (blocking my way outta' there damnit!) and his right hand was caressing my face.

"Aqua...I..." He hesitated. "My feelings for you...is like Colin for Ipsen...maybe more. I-I l-lo-" I could see his face contorting as he struggled to blurt out the three lil' words.

Zack was sweating really badly now and he took a deep breath as he attempted to say the words again. "Okay, here I go...I-I l-love y-y-" His face was growing redder and he was about ready to explode.

I couldn't help it. Despite the romantic atmosphere and how he had arranged the story to fit perfectly into his confession, I couldn't help laughing.

"_Ahahaha, _Z-Zack! Y-Your face! It's so purple that you look like an eggplant! And what's with the stuttering huh?" I wiped the tears in my eyes as he stared at me in disbelief.

"Aww man! You just had to ruin the atmosphere huh?" Zack pouted and groaned as he shook his spiky head.

"Truth be told you were in a bit of a pickle there. You looked more like some crazed fan rather than an admirer _tee hee_." I giggled and flashed him a smile. A genuine, real smile.

Zack looked up and stared at my face in wonders, and then he smiled too. "Finally...Man, do you know how long have I waited for that smile?"

"I smile every day!" I argued.

"Not those kinds of smile...A real smile, with emotions..." He looked at me adoringly. "The one I've been dying to see..."

"And how do you know if those smiles were fakes huh?" I teased him some more.

"SOLDIER's instinct. You can never lie in front of Zack Fair!"

Both he and I laughed until our eyes fell onto each other again.

"...I love you Aqua..." Zack confessed and looked at me with whatcha'-call-em', 'googly-eyes'.

I made a _pfft _sound and looked away. "You sound like a really needy guy right now. How would I know if you haven't tried that line on some other girl ey?" Muahaha, squirm in front of me SOLDIER boy!

"_Aww _c'mon! I'm being really sincere here! I really do love you y'know?" Zack said desperately, his arms flailing in the air right now as he's trying to make a statement.

Spontaneously I hugged the guy. I hugged him as tightly as I could and closed my eyes.

"...I know... I love you too SOLDIER boy...I guess..." I nibbled at his neck playfully.

Zack laughed at my statement and said, "_I guess_? Whadayamean' 'I guess'?"

"_Mmm, _50-50 I guess? I still hate you too, y'know? You're annoying." I mumbled.

"How can you love _and _hate someone at the same time?" Zack said in disbelief but he had lowered his arms and hugged me too while ruffling the back of my head.

"You can...If you love an irritatingly stupid and naive guy that is." I pinched his left arm. "You're way too obnoxious. You think that ghosts are real. You go jogging at five in the morning. You always do stupid things to get people's attention and...You were the only one who had ever caught me lying..._hmph_."

"Ouch! Okay okay, I guess I'll accept that for the moment." He grumbled, but I knew he was smiling too.

I nodded happily and rested my head on his well-toned chest.

"Hey..." Zack nudged on my head.

"_Mmm_?" I replied, still rubbing my face on his rather well-toned chest.

"We should call ourselves '_Zaqua' _after this, o-or _'Aqack'_!" Zack said happily.

"Those are stupid names...Why can't we just call ourselves Zack and Aqua?" It was really simpler and it sounds less idiotic.

"Then where's the fun of being a couple if we don't have cute nicknames?" Zack pouted.

"We'll think of one sweetie." I humoured him as he had rubbed his face against my head.

"And another thing, you gotta' stop with all the swearing. Don't go muttering 'Oh damnit' whenever something happens...It's kinda' off-character for you." Zack scolded sternly.

"Then what should I say then? 'Oh Zackdamnit'?"

"No! Nothing 'damnit' in it whatsoever! Try something else dear..." Zack said helpfully.

"_Mmm _okay...How bout' 'oh dear' then?" I mumbled.

I could feel the boy grinning from ear to ear as he nodded happily.

"I love you Aqua..." He said it again (and it really made my heart scream 'OOOOOOOHHHHH YEEEEAAAAHHHH!').

"Don't stop saying that." I mumbled happily and suddenly, a single tear escaped my eye. I was feeling so overwhelmed that no word exists in the dictionary to describe how I was feeling. _It'll work out between the two of us. Somehow...Someway..._

"Just this once...God...Please don't take away my newfound happiness..." I looked up at the sky (It was still noon though...).

Just for that moment, I've forgotten about everything. The school, my duties, my reputation, even my dad... Everything else doesn't seem to matter when I'm with Zack.

* * *

Forgot to put this right at the end! (Sorry ^^) Yes, the story of the tree, Ipsen & Colin, are all from Zidane's tale in FFIX ^^ nice work!


	8. CHAPTER VIII: Naminé's Lament

Ya-haw! Well I'll be! I managed to finish a chappy right a few good days after the last one! We-ell this one has been in my mind for quite some time now and it's actually, really the reason why I started the stereotyping thingy in my fic (you'll find out soon enough!) Again, I'm sooooooo happy for all the review I've gotten from you guys! I'll be answering them down below here. Anyways I would really like to hear your thoughts on today's chappy so seriously, R&R! I don't care if you're anonymous or not! Tell me your thoughts and as usual- flame if you want! Muahaha! Enjoy! Ya-haw!

RoxasOtaku - Thank you sooooo much! I hope you continue reading my fic!

Katfreak - No you're right...that was sooo totally Zack (Or is it not?) Muahaha, bash them if you want!

queenofspades19 - Well, some things happened!

tailsfan54321 - Yup, you caught me :p It's Zidane's story from FFIX

Riku Uzumaki - Well, the flashback arc is kinda short!

dikemon - Ya-haw! I can't tell you that yet! Did Zack die? Well did he? Muahaha you have to continue reading this story to find out! (Ain't I a stinker?)

Aquastorm XIV - Ahh yesss, young love. (can't really say much since we inbox each other a lot :p) Thankies bestie!

Eidolon Twilight Princess - Muahaha, another person I managed to change sides! (Terra, your boat looks a lot lonelier right now!)

* * *

CHAPTER VIII: Naminé's Lament

* * *

_Aqua_

_

* * *

_

"And so that's how I met with Zack...and how he became my first boyfriend..." I finished the story. Whew, that's a load off! I've never really told this story to anyone before except Yuffie (I tell my cousin about almost everything!) and now this guy...

"So you two were a couple?" Terra repeated dumbly, as if finally accepting the fact.

"_WERE _is the right word to use, yup." I nodded my head. "We broke up just recently..." Whoa girl, no need to go there!

"So you're single now right?" Terra suddenly perked up, looking slightly happier.

"Y-Yeah but...I-I'm not really looking forward for a new relationship at the moment." I explained to the big guy. "A-Anyways I've told you the story so...mooch over the brooch." I held my hand out.

"B-But you haven't finished the story yet!" Terra protested. "What happened after that? This Zack guy, where's he now? Why did you guys broke up-"

I held a finger to his mouth as I shook my head. "Not a story I like to tell..." I smiled sadly. "Let's just say that I did something _really _stupid and it was my fault kay'?"

Terra made a funny noise as if scoffing at the idea that I could do anything wrong.

"What?" I looked at him, amused. "Is there anything wrong with the idea of me being the cause of a break-up?"

"You- Well..." Terra looked like he was lost at words. I couldn't blame him, he was probably trying to think of a way to convince me otherwise.

"Anyways, the brooch if you please. Oh, and don't think that I've forgotten that _you _owe me a story now." My gaze lingered at his hand where I know he's holding the said brooch.

"...Axel and I were trying to convince Amarant and Beatrix back to school." Terra suddenly began.

_Telling the story first ey'? Ah well, whichever order he wants to start with is fine I guess...as long as he give me my brooch back that is._

I withdrew my hand and waited as the boy relayed his story.

"They've recently handed in their letters to stop schooling and Headmaster Ansem...well, he disagrees with their choices. He thinks that they have a lot of potential in them so we've been trying to persuade them to think about it." Terra said monotonously.

"And how does Axel fit into the picture?" I inquired seeing as how unlikely the redhead would go out of his way to team up with the Herculean boy.

"He's been caught skipping school a lot during the start of the term. Ansem used it as a leverage to get him to do this, seeing as he's the same type as Amarant..." Terra trailed off but I knew exactly what he meant. Both the redheads are delinquents.

I chuckled at the thought. _Well, it's kinda' true though!_

"I take from the banging and crashing sounds from upstairs just now that the conference didn't go to well?" I looked at him with another amused expression.

"Yup. Both of them haven't even sat down for more than three minutes when Axel threw the first lamp." Terra recounted with a sigh. "He's not in a good mood these days since he had to see me often."

I knew there had to be a reason for Axel's change of mood but I was still too angry to care. The boy called me an idiot anyways!

"I'm kinda' interested on what's been going on between you two boys but right now..." I eyed his hand again. "My brooch, if you please." I held out my hand again.

Terra looked at me for a moment before a certain glint in his eyes prickled my alarm senses.

_That look...its got mischief written all over it!_

It's the same face Zack always makes when he's doing his usual pranks. I immediately lunged for my brooch but the boy reacted a second faster as he rolled away (yes, he _rolled!_) and stood up quickly.

"Y'know...I think I'll keep the brooch." Terra said with a smirk on his face.

"W-What? That's not the deal!" I protested. I stood up and hurriedly followed him as he walks away. "I want my brooch back! It's mine!"

"Yeah but you haven't finished telling your story yet." He suddenly turned around, looking dead-serious. "I want to know more about what happened."

"Y-You can't do this! I told you already it's my fault!" Tears were beginning to form in my eyes as I desperately tried to convince him.

"No story, no brooch." He said with finality in his tone.

I stood there as he stared at me and I knew that I couldn't get myself outta' this.

"W-Well, it's getting really late now a-and I don't think there'll be time to tell it s-so..." I looked at him.

"Then I'll hold on to this until that time then." He said simply.

"W-What? C-C'mon!" I whined. I was crying now and feeling really miserable with myself. How can he be such a big jerk?

"Just kidding." Terra suddenly winked and took my hand. "Think of it as a deposit..." He handed the brooch into my hand.

I stared at the piece of jewellery in my hand and the tears just continually drop silently from my face. My brooch...my treasure...

"Geez, I-I'm sorry about this kay'? I really sucked at the whole 'good-guy, bad-guy' bit..." Terra groaned. "B-But I really want to know more about you so...tell me anything you'd like whenever you feel comfortable kay'?" He smiled.

Such kindness was a first for me, well, from _him _anyways. I nodded as I clutched the piece of jewellery tightly.

"Thank you..." Without thinking, I tiptoed slightly and kissed him on his right cheek.

I felt my own face heating up as the boy backed away with a really, _really _shocked face. He touched the spot I had kissed and his mouth was hanging open so wide that a fly could buzz right in and he wouldn't even notice it.

"T-That doesn't mean I like you or anything!" I said hurriedly. Wouldn't want the boy to think I have a crush on him now would I? "I-It's just that...well..._thank you_."

I smiled at the boy before suddenly turning around and ran away, as fast as I could (crutches and injuries forgotten).

Terra seemed to have regain his senses and held his hand out. "W-Wait! What'd you mean by that?" He called out. "Come back!"

I stopped a good few metres away and playfully stuck out my tongue. "_Nuh-uh! _Not gonna' you big meanie!" I laughed and ran again.

"W-Wait! ...Man..." Terra sighed and dropped himself to the sandy beach as he watched me disappear from sight. "Why didn't I ask her name? Geez..." He groaned and lay on the ground.

* * *

_School! Finally!_

I was shifting around in front of my classroom nervously as I thought of the reasons I could give my classmates once I entered.

I've lost my hat and glasses and I've asked for help from different resources on how to hide my face but none of them seemed too interested on me reverting back to my old self. Yuna even gave me a smirk when I pleaded her (begged, more like) for help.

I pulled a few strands of hair in front of my eyes and spontaneously began twirling it (I'm nervous, I'm nervous!).

"Aqua?"

I yelped a little when I heard my name being called and I turned around slowly to see Kairi and an unfamiliar brown-haired boy looking at me.

"Kairi." I sighed in relief. At least it wasn't Hayner or Tidus...

"Why are you acting so weird outside the classroom?" Kairi raised her eyebrows.

"I'm not acting weird! I'm just...doing a rain-dance?" I finished that line lamely as Kairi rolled her eyes and what's-his-name chuckled. "Who's this?" I didn't sound rude or anything, I just looked at him with my eyes wide open.

"Hey! Kairi told me about you, my name's Sora!" The spiky-haired boy (A lot of the boys in this school have gravity defying hair it seems...) introduced himself brightly and held out his hand.

I shook his hand (he shook mine quite energetically) and he smiled toothily, flashing me his pearly-whites.

"He's my boyfriend." Kairi said, embarrassed. "He and I started dating near the end of last year."

"I had to bribe her with chocolates and tons of ice-creams to snag her." Sora whispered and winked.

Kairi gave him a playful punch as he laughed happily. I smiled at the couple, boy do they bring back some good memories...

"So _what _are you doing exactly?" Kairi turned her attention back to me after tickling her boyfriend.

"I-I'm a lil' nervous on going in there..." I mumbled as I pulled my hair.

Kairi seemed to have cottoned on my situation and nodded her head knowingly. "Sora? I think you can go to your class now, I'll be fine with Aqua." She patted her boyfriend's shoulder.

"What? Are you trying to get rid of me?" Sora pouted (somehow, the boy is kinda' cute).

"Yes I am." Kairi grinned. "Now you mosey on while I help my friend out here." She pushed his back as he returned to his old demeanour.

"Okay, okay but don't forget our date later!" Sora laughed as he waved goodbye.

"Sorry about Sora, he can be a lil'..._bouncy _at times." Kairi sighed.

"I think I can relate to that." I said happily as I remembered handling Zack in the past.

Kairi smiled at me for a moment and, "So...What are we gonna' do about your mask?"

"I don't need a mask or anything, I just need...something to hide my face..." I mumbled. Again, I'm expressing how naked I feel without my hat and glasses.

"Well, I for one think that you don't need them." Kairi suddenly piped up. "Aqua...You're really pretty." Kairi said as her eyes twinkled.

I took a step back and pretended to be shocked. "Whoa, I didn't know you _swing _that way." I joked as Kairi stuck out her tongue.

"T-That's not why I meant!" She huffed. "What I meant was that you don't need a hat or anything to hide yourself Aqua. You have to be confidence in your looks." Kairi took my hands and gripped them.

...In a sense she's actually right. Years ago I might've actually scoff at what she just said and tell her that I _am _pretty enough, thank you very much!

But I'm not like that anymore...and truth be told I lost any (and all) amount of self-confidence I have since I transferred to Destiny High.

_I'm nervous, I'm twitchy, I look like a fishbone, I'm pale compared to the other girls, and I'm not exactly an expert in make-ups..._

"...So just go in there and be confident kay'? I'm here, Garnet and Yuna too, we'll all be behind you all the way." She said assuringly.

"Kay'." I gave her an unsure smile and inhaled deeply. _Well, here I go!_ I slide the door open to be invited by the raucous noises of my classmates.

Almost immediately the racket stopped and everyone had gone deathly mute.

"Okay maybe this isn't such a good idea." I muttered and turned around but Kairi held me firmly and forced me to turn back.

I walked towards my sit as I felt all eyes were on me and watching my every move.

"Kairi...who's _that_?" I heard Hayner ask.

"Hmm? What, you guys don't know? It's Aqua." Kairi answered, crossing her arms.

"Aqua?" I heard everyone mumbled my name and after a few seconds...gasps all around.

"_Aqua_? That Aqua?" Hayner was the first one to yell.

"Yes, _that _Aqua, and don't shout Hayner." Kairi said, annoyed.

"B-But how? She looks totally different!" Usual, expected question from a hard to believe situations.

"What? She always looked like this." Garnet suddenly piped up from her sit. _Nice assist there._

"You knew?" Hayner turned his attention towards the brunette.

"_Some _of us knew." Yuna said boredly (she's sitting next to me BTW) and winked at me.

Mutterings filled the room and some were even whispering;

"_I knew she was that bluebird!"_

"_The one Terra's looking for?"_

"_We could've put two and two together!"_

"_She has REAL blue-coloured hair!"_

"_Does anyone know what's on today's lunch menu?"_

I reached my sit and saw the redhead (Axel...) staring at me with a blank expression.

My insides squirmed as I looked at him unsurely back. Maybe he's still mad at me? (For whatever reason I couldn't think off...).

"H-Hey..." I squeaked. Truthfully I know that I'm not at fault in this situation but... I missed having him around... There! I've I said it! I missed having that lovable oaf around.

"Hey." He said 'hey' back!

But he fell silent after that. All of the voices and noises were gone, as if I've entered another time zone with Axel. I couldn't see anything else but him (freaky ain't it?).

"...You totally blew your cover, y'know that?" Axel mumbled quietly.

"Couldn't find my disguise." I mumbled back.

"...You uh...Look really good like this." Axel suddenly said.

"Good?" I raised one of my eyebrows. "You've seen my face before."

"Yeah, I have- I mean- Uhh..." The redhead began ruffling his hair nervously. His whole body gesture is showing that he's squirming about something. His hands were fiddling with something and I finally understood what he was trying to do.

"Oh Axel..." I sighed and put down my bag. "You could just say sorry y'know?" I smiled as I stared pointedly at a little wrapped box underneath his desk.

"What? Oh..." Axel mumbled as he knew that he was found out. "Didn't think it would be enough...I was a real ass back then wasn't I?" He looked up.

"Yes you were, and you have the satisfaction of knowing that you made me cry that day." I gave him a _'humph'_.

"I didn't want to do that." He said hastily. "Alright fine, let me try your way."

Axel coughed a few times and took out the present he was supposedly 'hiding'. "I-I'm really sorry for acting like a prick that day and I know that I shouldn't have called you an idiot...that was out of line and I put my ego ahead of me when I should've put something...or someone else instead." He apologized (almost) sincerely.

"Axel...that was beautiful." I said, touched by his words.

"Really? Wow, Naminé is really good at writing apology notes...I-I mean, s-sure." Axel stuttered.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear about 'Naminé' and still thank you for that apology...even if it sounds _sooo _not like you." I said as I accept his peace offering. "_Friends?_" I tilted my head slightly as I bat my eyes several times.

"C'mere you." Axel grinned and ruffled my hair into a messy state.

All of a sudden all my worries and bad feeling seemed to have disappear. My heart feels lighter and I didn't even mind him messing my hair up.

"Right, first order of business." Axel suddenly perked up, looking all business-like.

"Oit you lot!" Axel called the whole class.

Everyone quieted down and looked at him. Axel went to the front of the class and coughed as he eyed the people in front of him.

"I know that everyone's excited on finding out who the real 'melodic bluebird' is." He started.

"_Melodious_" The class chimed in unison.

"Details." Axel rolled his eyes. "Anyways, I need you guys to do one lil' favour for Aqua's sake."

"Something like keeping her identity a secret?" A round-faced boy said out loud.

"Exactly Wrench." Axel pointed at him.

"It's _Pence_." He said irritably.

"I know that some of you guys are in the jocks team and some of you are with culties." Axel looked at Tidus, and then to Kairi. "But it's really important because I don't want her to be hounded by the other kids at school."

Axel walked in front of the whiteboard back and forth like a military commander in a strategy meeting.

"I'm not asking you guys much, just keep a lid on whenever anyone asked about Aqua."

"And why should we do that? Shouldn't we be showing her off instead? _We got the bluebird in our class! Beat that!_" Tidus piped up as he bounced his blitzball.

"Cuz' if you don't, then we're officially breaking up." Yuna threatened.

"Got that everyone? We have to hide Aqua! Everyone put their heads together on this one!" Tidus said spontaneously and nodded his head vigorously in understanding.

"But Axel...How are we supposed to hide her? She's got no way to hide her face." One of my classmates, Vaan, suddenly raised a reasonable question.

Axel opened his mouth to say something, and then he closed it again, frowning. Here's the chink in his plan, it seems.

"Maybe this will help a bit."

Everyone's attention to the person who had just said that (It came from the front door).

Tifa was standing in front of the door with her eyes on me. She was smiling somewhat as she made her way towards me.

She stood in front of me (taller than me BTW) and eyed my face interestedly. I reminded myself that Tifa had always been a classmate of mine since day one, but we haven't really talked much cuz' every time any one of us tried to strike up a conversation, Axel would always interrupt and kidnap me away.

"I knew it...somehow I _knew _that you were that girl on that stage." She breathed.

"H-Hi Tifa." I don't know why I said that...why did I say that?

Tifa chuckled lightly and rummaged through her bag. "I think this belongs to you..." She said as she handed me..._my hat and glasses!_

"My stuffs!" I said happily as I wore them back. _Aaah, back where they belong!_

"_Ack_, she looks nothing like the bluebird." Tidus choked. "No offense though, seriously." He added quickly after seeing the look on Yuna's face.

I looked at Tifa as she flashed a smile at me. "Thank you, it really means a lot to me. They belonged to my grandpa so they're keepsakes."

"No problem at all. I haven't actually introduced myself to you right? And to think that we've been in the same class together. My name is Tifa Lockheart, I'm the vice-captain of the Martial Arts department." She held out her hand which I accepted and shook.

"I'm Aqua, President of the Angel Wings (since I've been forced to be...)." I introduced myself in return. Hey, it's only the right thing to do in this situation right?

She drew her head closer to mine and beckoned me to come closer. "Don't worry, I won't tell Terra _or _Snow about you." Tifa whispered.

"That would be really appreciated!" I thanked her (I'm whispering too!).

"But in return..." She continued. Oh boy, I just knew that it'd be too good to be true.

I waited for her request, prolly' some info on our club activities or something.

"I want you to help me out with Cloud."

_Oookkkaaayyy, _that was unexpected! I raised my eyebrows but she looked dead serious. Heck, she was even blushing right now!

"You have a crush on him?" I asked interestedly.

If possible, Tifa's face turned even redder, which totally answered my question.

"So...Will you help me out? Pretty please?" She asked anxiously.

"I dunno' if I could be of much help really but...Sure! After all I'm a crusader of love! (I just made that up on the spot)" I thumped my chest as a sign of confidence but I hit myself too hard and ended up coughing a few times.

Tifa looked absolutely delighted as she took my hands and, "_Oooh, _thank you! I'm in your hands!" She said delightedly.

"Are you two done with your lil' secret?" Axel spoke from the front, sounding a little bit annoyed. "And might I remind you that she's my club member Tifa?" He added, staring at the brunette.

"Shush Axel, no need to be rude, Tifa's only helping me out." I waved my hand at him as Tifa turned to stare outside the windows awkwardly. "Whenever you're ready you just let me know kay'?" I just can't help but to smile at the girl.

"O-Okay, well...my sit is over there..." Tifa pointed at the front of the class and made her way there. As she sat down she turned her head towards me and silently mouthed, "_I'll talk to you later!_" ...Or something like that.

"Now that we've _covered _that part I don't see any more problems in the future...unless _somebody _opens their mouth." Axel's sight lingered on Tifa for awhile but she stared back determinedly at him.

"I won't squeal on a friend. _Ever_." Tifa pressed the last bit deeper.

"G-Guys." I suddenly spoke up. All eyes were back on me and this time some of them felt..._relaxed_. It's like they like it better when I look like this or something...

"I know that it's asking a lot for you to keep it a secret but..." In my mind the picture of Ven covered in slime came rolling back like an old film. "If you were ever in a situation where you are _forced _to tell about me...then do it. I don't want any of you to get hurt." Wow, I sound like some princess in protection custody here!

"We won't tell on you Aqua." Surprisingly, it had been Hayner who said that.

"Yeah, you're our friend aren'tcha? We've got your back." Vaan thumped his chest.

"Our lips are sealed." Another one of my classmates, Penelo, put a finger on her lips as a sign of silence.

"G-Guys..." I was really touched! Here I thought that most of my classmates hated me all this time! (With the exception of a select few o' course...) "T-Thank you all...especially when you guys said that I was your _friend_." My eyes fell on Tifa, who smiled at me.

"What? You've always been our friend Aqua!" Pence looked at me incredulously.

"Yeah, you're part of the family! _Our _family!" Hayner boomed.

"A noisy, loud and obnoxious family..." Payne (an emo-looking girl who's also my classmate!) said monotonously while rolling her eyes.

The loudness level of the class became apparent again that Axel finally decided to leave his post and went back to his seat back, chuckling all the way.

"Y'see? They might be a bunch of boom-babies (I have no idea what that is, honestly) but they're a good bunch." Axel said, still chuckling.

"I-I...No one has told me that I belonged to a family before..." I mumbled. I know that it's stupid to feel elated or surprised or anything about that but I couldn't help it. I've never experienced things like this before!

"They never hated you in the first place, do you know that?" Garnet leaned closer to me (her seat's behind mine). "They...well, they've always thought that since you're so quiet _you _were the one that hated _them_, and so they always kept a distance from you." Garnet patted my back.

True...I guess I've been avoiding them ever since the first day. They've always been acting like I'm invisible yet _I'm _the reason why they acted that way.

Watching the kids right now, creating havoc and doing their own things...I felt a sense of belonging for the first time in my life, a very rare feeling indeed.

_Things are changing, for the better_. I smiled to myself.

The door slides open again and Mr. Sazh (hey it's been a long time since we saw him!) entered the classroom. "Settle down kids! It's time for homeroom!"

* * *

_Lunch break! Weeee!_

The school bell rang, signalling the moment for the entire class to erupt into chaos again and sure enough, Tidus started bouncing his blitzball everywhere and everyone started making noises. Mr. Saix merely acted as if he didn't see anything but as he slides open the door he muttered, "See all of you in detention tomorrow after school." Which earned a loud groan from everyone and I could've swore I saw Mr. Saix smirked!

Axel, Kairi, Garnet and Yuna gathered around my table and we girls immediately discussed about the assignment we were given as Axel was still cursing Saix under his breath.

"A _duet_? Was Mr. Cid right in the head just now? He's teaching English! Not Glee Club!" Kairi face-palmed herself.

"I know..._Ugh,_and you guys know I just _have _to sing it with Tidus right? And the boy couldn't differentiate a musical note from a doodle!" Yuna groaned as she watched her boyfriend running around the room with Hayner.

"I don't think I'll be having any problem with this though...So who are you singing it with Aqua?" Garnet looked at me interestedly.

"I dunno'...Hey Axel!" I snapped my fingers in front of the still cursing boy.

Axel blinked a few times and looked around him, as if noticing that a discussion had just been started moments ago. "I'm sorry, what?" He looked around dully.

"We're talking about the duet assignment Mr. Cid gave us." Garnet sighed.

"Oh that..." Axel trailed off, still looking dazed. "Wanna' do it with me?" He suddenly asked me.

In a normal situation I would've been taken aback and blushing furiously but...it's just Axel (note the emoticon '-_-') and that was what I wanted to suggest to him in the first place.

"You read my mind like a book." I grinned and put my hand up for a high-five, which the boy generously slaps back.

After that all of us became engrossed with the discussion on Kairi's boyfriend, Sora, whom apparently, Axel frowns upon.

"Dude looks like he's not right in the head...Always laughing and smiling like he won the lottery all the time..." Axel gave his reason as Kairi had taken in her stride to defend her 'soulmate'.

"He's just a positively cheerful person! Is it wrong to always be happy?" Kairi folded her arms.

"He played on Roxas's skateboard last week, rammed his head straight into a wall and was laughing hysterically when the other kids brought him to the infirmary, that what you call 'positively cheerful'? I call it nuts." Axel snorted.

"Well he could be a tiny bit abnormal... I mean..._sigh* _he _is _nuts isn't he?" Kairi sighed and slumps her shoulder in defeat as Garnet and Yuna nodded their heads.

However, our teasing on Kairi had been abruptly interrupted by the appearance of Yuffie who came crashing into the classroom (the door was luckily opened at that time so she just crashed into the teacher's table).

"Axel! WE GOT AN EMERGENCY!" She screamed out loud, her voice alone matched the whole class's put together.

"No need to shout, I'm right here." Axel winced, digging into his ear.

Yuffie zipped past the crowd (like the wind) and almost immediately appeared right next to Axel.

"Axel! We got an emergency, _an emergency_!" The brunette repeated as she flailed her arms wildly into the air.

"Calm down and tell us what's wrong Yuff." I sighed at my cousin's behaviour.

Yuffie's attention was diverted as she looked at me. "Cuz'! You're back!" She said happily as she jumped and hugged me. "_Oooh, _it's nice to see you back here!"

I merely chuckled at my cousin's short attention span. Yuffie has always been like this since she was younger. Quick to change interest, always zoning out whenever something bores her and when she yawns, it means that it's time to give up on whatever it is you're trying to teach her. However one of Yuffie's more admirable traits is that she is never quick to anger. She rarely (almost never) gets angry, and I mean _really _angry. Most of the time she just laughs at whatever it is that's bugging her and always brushes em' off.

"It's nice to see you too. So how're you doing- _Watch the hands!_" I warned her as I slapped away her sneaky hands that are slowly making their way up my shirt.

As us two cousins hugged and make _'aww' _sounds, Axel merely sighed and pulled Yuffie away from me (the girl screaming '_nooo_' all the way).

"Focus Yuffie." Axel snapped his fingers in front of her eyes. "What's the emergency?"

Yuffie blinked several times before she snapped back to her senses. "What...? Oh yeah! Axel we have an emergency!" Yuffie waved her arms up and down.

Axel face-palmed himself and sighed. "Heard you the first _umpteenth _time! Now what is it?" Axel asked, sounding a little bit annoyed.

"It's Naminé!" Yuffie cried out.

My smile quickly dropped as I start to take my cousin's words seriously. "What happened?" I asked, sounding anxious.

"I-I don't really know. Cloud said that he saw her getting dragged into the girl's toilet on the second floor by some mean-looking girls and since he can't go in there he told me to get Fang and Lightning but I couldn't find either of them so I found Ven and told him to get Roxas and Xion while I go find you and-" Yuffie continued on and on until Axel puts a finger on her lips, quickly silencing the hyperactive girl.

"Lead the way." Axel said, looking really serious.

* * *

We reached the toilet minutes later and found the others already crowding the front door (the guys, I mean). Cloud was pacing around several times with his hands behind his back while both Ven and Hope struggled to hold back an enraged Roxas. All their attentions were fixed at us as Cloud hurriedly made his way towards Axel.

"You guys go in, let me talk to Cloud." Axel pushed me lightly and I nodded, patting Roxas on the shoulder as I walked past him.

The toilet (although it's the girls') was dark and damp, with little to no sunlight reaching in since the windows were slightly higher on the walls (counter-measures for perverted boys, hormones y'know?). The first thing I saw was Fang, who was leaning on the wall looking disgusted. Xion was standing next to her, her hands balled into fists and Aerith was kneeling on the floor beside a sink.

My feet stopped as I noticed a sobbing girl who was burying her face in her lap as she hugged her legs tightly. It was Naminé. The young girl was crying herself away as Aerith stroked her hair gently, soothing the girl.

"Shush, you're okay now sweetie...no one's going to hurt you..." Aerith cooed the girl as she squeaked.

"What happened here?" I dropped my voice to a whisper and directed the question to Fang, my eyes still not leaving the girl.

"See what happened to her and you tell me." Fang said with repulsion.

As I took a closer look at the blonde girl I noticed that her top had been severely ripped apart and her skirt was loosely worn. I kneeled down beside Aerith (the girl was close to tears) and tenderly touched Naminé's cheeks, slowly bringing her face to view. The girl shook horribly and tried to resist but I cupped her face firmly but gently.

"Oh dear..."

Her face was doodled on with lots of crude lines and shapes that were black in colour. The lines continued down her face to her neck and the rest of her body (cuz' I saw the lines all over her arms). The girl's eyes were red and tears continued falling down but at the very least there were no physical injuries...

That's what I thought at first.

"Sweetie...It's gonna' be okay. We'll wash these drawings off your body now..." I said gently but when I tried to bring her up she thrashed around and began sobbing hysterically. I quickly released her and she hugged herself back as tightly as she could. I knew something was wrong then, something much worse.

"Sweetie...what did they do to you? _Who _did this to you?" I held her arm. _Who on earth would do something so inhumane?_

Naminé squeaked and shook her head, refusing to tell us anything.

"Sweetie you need to tell us what happened to you so that we can help you..." I was close to tears myself as I choked on the words.

The young girl stared at me tearfully, as if contemplating on that thought. "I..." she finally spoke. "T-They said that if I told the teachers t-they're gonna' show it to the whole school..."

I don't know what on earth she's talking about but then I noticed that something was wrong with the way she was sitting. _She's hugging herself too tightly...Like she's hiding something... _And that's when I noticed the red stains on her skirt and the sides of her shirt.

"I-It wasn't so bad when they drew on me Aqua...Inks fade away, they're not forever but..." Naminé loosen her grip and pointed to her chest.

My heart sank as I saw the reason for her hysterical fit.

"...I think I'm going to be reminded of this for the rest of my life..." She chuckled bitterly.

There, carved upon her delicate, porcelain-like skin, was the very first word I kept telling Naminé that she wasn't;

_Whore_

The wound was still fresh as blood was still oozing out of it and the perpetrator had taken her time to carefully carve the words deep into her flesh.

"Oh sweetie!" I broke down and hugged her as tightly as I could. She squeaked a little when I accidentally hit her chest but I didn't want to let her go.

"_They wouldn't stop_.' Naminé squeaked. "They wouldn't stop even when I begged them...cried for mercy...They just laughed..." Fresh tears dripped down her face and onto my chest.

Suddenly there was a loud 'bang' sound from my back and I turned to look at Fang, who was panting really heavily. She had punched the wall.

"_Larxene_." Fang snarled. "She's the only one we know who brings a knife to school."

I had a mental recollection on my first day of school when the blonde-haired girl had pinned me to the walls while pointing a pocketknife to my chest.

"I'm gonna' find her." Fang was shaking really badly now. "I'm gonna' find that bitch. Think she can mess around with one of my girls now does she? I'll find her, and _make her pay!_" She let out a really shrill, war-cry like sound and rushed out of the toilet.

"_Stop her_." I hissed. "Stop her before she does anything stupid!" I know for a fact that Fang and Larxene had long, bitter history together and this situation isn't helping one bit!

"Yuffie!" I looked at my cousin pleadingly but she merely stood there, rooted on the spot. "Xion!" I turned to the brunette but she looked like she didn't know what to do.

"I wanna' hear more." Was what Yuffie said, her eyes on Naminé. "What else did they do?"

I've never seen Yuffie like this before. For the first time there was no cheerful smile, no cute laughter, just a cold, harsh aura emitting from her body.

"What did you mean when you said they were going to show it to the whole school?" Aerith suddenly asked.

Naminé shook her head again but this time, _this time,_ we have to know.

"Sweetie please...You've gotta' give us something, _anything_! Let us help you!" I pleaded, my eyes full of tears.

Naminé opened her mouth unsurely and then, "They...They stripped me down to my underwear and-and did this..." She eyed her whole body. "A-And then they took pictures with their cell phones! T-They said that if I tell the teachers they're going to post it up the internet!" At this, the girl broke down and cried herself a river.

"W-Why me? What did I ever do to deserve this?" She looked at me with such pitiful eyes that I couldn't find the words to comfort her.

Without warning, Naminé suddenly pushed me away and ran outside the toilet while clutching her chest. Her sobs and wails were heard and the distinct voice of Roxas shouting "_Naminé! Wait!"_

"I'm going after the bitches who did this." Yuffie growled, baring her teeth. "I'll tear down the whole school if I have to!" Imitating Fang, the wannabe-ninja leapt across the room and dashed out of the toilet, leaving all three of us girls befuddled.

I looked at my hands and saw that some of Naminé's blood had stained them, and so was my vest. I was shaking really badly too, _what on Earth could I do? _I turned to face the remaining two girls.

"You two aren't gonna' run off like that too are you?" I questioned them. Both of them shook their heads and I nodded mine. "Good...We need to put our heads together and help Naminé on this one."

"I-I'll tell the guys outside and let them know the story." Xion said and walked out the toilet.

I watched her walk away and turned my attention towards the brown-haired girl next to me. "Aerith...I need your help to find Naminé...Roxas is prolly' chasing after her right now so please, _please _help her out." I practically begged her.

Aerith nodded and slowly makes her way out too, leaving me alone to my thoughts. I hugged myself and rocked on the spot, not sure on what to do. Minutes ago everything was fine, everything was peachy perfect...

* * *

_Fang_

"LARXENE!" I screamed that bitch's name out loud as I kicked the girl's changing room's door open. All of the girls inside were shocked and some of them even screamed a little but I couldn't care less about scaring them.

I stalked inside the familiar place and my eyes darted left and right for a pair of long antennae sticking out in the middle of the air. I know for a fact that she's always smoking in here every lunch period...

"Larxene! Come out here you little runt! I got a bone to pick with you!" I snarled and that made the other girls in the vicinity steer clear of me.

"Fang." A girl from the crowd called my name and made her way to the front. I remembered her, she was one of the seniors...one of my batch...who forced me to hand my resignation letter from the team.

"You're not allowed in here anymore are you? Who said that you can come in here and-"

A loud crunch interrupted her snobby little speech as I punched her straight in the face (I think I'm allowed the pleasure to know that I've broken her nose). The girl fell to the floor while moaning and clutching her nose as her teammates surrounded her.

"Got a bone to pick with _you _too Jihl, but now's not the time for that. Where's Larxene?" I cracked my knuckles menacingly.

"_Who the hell's making all that racket? Geez, is it so hard to ask you guys for a couple of peaceful minutes?"_

I didn't need to turn around to know whom the voice belonged to. Before she could even say as much as a surprised "Fang!" I immediately pounced at her with all my might.

"LARXENE!" I grabbed her by the collars and banged her to the walls. Before she could even respond I landed a punch straight to her face and slapped her again and again. The girl finally retaliated with a well-aimed punch to my right eye and kicked me hard in the stomach.

"_What the hell's your problem?" _Larxene screeched, looking at me with a mixture of anger and fear.

"Bitch!" I snarled and tackled her to the wall again. The girl let out a groan but hit me several times on my back.

"LET-ME-GO!" She yelled out, grabbing my hair and trying to yank me off.

"Why the hell did you do that to Naminé huh? What did she ever do to you?" In my mind the face of that sweet little girl came in and also the vision of her crying in helpless misery.

Suddenly all of Larxene's retaliation stopped. "N-Naminé? Did something happen to her?" Her voice was full of concern all of the sudden.

I straightened my back and grabbed her collar again. "Don't pretend like you don't know! Drawing on her was one thing, but why the hell did you-"

"She's my _little sister_! Why would I do anything to her?" Larxene cried out.

Wow. That's a shocker alright. I actually froze on the spot while my fist was still in her stomach.

"W-What did you just say?" Maybe I'm hearing it wrong, she couldn't have said-

"She-is-my-little-sister." Larxene repeated. "What happened to her?" Her eyes full of concern.

She's not lying...Oh man, oh man this is _so wrong_. "How the hell can a sweet, angelic lil' thing like that can have a screwed up bitch of a sister like you?" I am officially astounded here. But the possibility of her hurting Naminé hasn't drop yet.

"I'm gonna' wave that comment off and skip right to the main course you bitch- _What happened to my sister?_" Larxene said, looking slightly offended.

After letting her go (We even shooed all the other girls away), we sat down on one of the locker room's benches and it took me some time to relate the whole story to her. Larxene went from concerned to fear to shock and finally to anger.

"When I find who did that to little Nami I'm gonna..." Larxene began.

"It sounds so screwed up when you call her that but...how come I've never seen you two together before?" Guess I'm going off-topic here, but I'm really curious.

"We...Well we don't mix very well. Naminé's always been a bit weird since she was born y'know? Hardly went out and not mixing in with the kids her age...She always has that little book of hers wherever she goes...and she only draws, that's what she always does...and sometimes we could see her talking to herself, and that _book_... Finally our parents has had it and sent her away to stay with grandma and well...she passed away some years after that but mum and dad never went around picking little Nami up... They abandoned her in that old dorm up the beach and sent her food money whenever she asks." Larxene told me.

"When she enrolled in this school I thought I could watch over her but...she always pretends like I don't exist. I never got around to telling people who she is though, prolly' why she gets picked on a lot...but this...this is ridiculous. Are you telling me that someone actually _cuts _my little sister?" Larxene looked at me painfully and I nodded my head curtly.

I felt a little sorry for Larxene about her condition but compared to what Naminé's going through every day... She has a better life than her little sister ever had. _She's the bully while Naminé's the one being bullied..._

"You're too busy being a bitch to actually look out for your lil' sis. Aqua's been taking that role for some time now." I said without feelings.

Surprisingly, Larxene made a sad smile at my words. "Really now...? That four-eyed nerd?"

"Careful, I might have to punch ya' again if you insult anyone from my club." I warned her.

Larxene chuckled a bit before giving me a serious look. "I didn't do that to Nami. I would never, ever do something like that to her. Believe me."

This was totally not the Larxene that I knew. _A protective big sister ey'? _Somehow I already believed her way before she told me that story. Funny feeling, considering we're enemies. But I have a little sister back home too, and I guess I know that protective feeling that both of us share.

"I believe ya'...but do you have any idea who might have done that?" Larxene's grapevine of the bullies in school is vast, maybe she knows who prances around with a knife in their schoolbag.

"I got an idea who might be _sick _enough to do it." Larxene made a disgusted face. "Follow me, we're going straight to the witch's den." Larxene suddenly stood up, straightening the hems of her skirt.

I nodded my head and followed behind the blonde-haired girl.

"Just so you know, this doesn't change _anything_...I'm only doing this for Naminé." She huffed.

"The feeling's mutual. Boy, if Light ever saw this she'll castrate the both of us!" I lightly joked as Larxene made a face at the sound of Lightning's name.

* * *

_Naminé_

I looked down at the school as I breathed in the fresh, open air. The wind was strong and the weather's a bit cloudy today. _Good. No one will be here. _I didn't know what I'm going to do...All I know is that I'm through with all this...I'm tired, I'm really, _really _tired.

From the first day I entered Destiny High my life has been nothing but a living Hell. I get picked on every day by the 'popular' kids at school and when Roxas started talking to me...My life went from depression to pure misery. I never knew why he wanted to be around me so badly. He's always asking me all sorts of random and useless questions.

I guess it's his way of bullying me too...If he talks to me then the other girls will get jealous...then they'll pick on me again...and again...and again... The bullying doesn't stop there, oh no... Roxas just had to make my life more painful by joining the Angel Wings. He wasn't an outcast to begin with. He was never bullied, never experienced hardship before in his life.

Everybody loves Roxas. He was one of the popular crowd, he was cool. A living, breathing, and picture perfect person. He's got everybody's affection. The school...his teachers...even his parents _loves _him.

Well I _don't_. I don't like him, and I certainly don't enjoy him being around me. It hurts...It really does... Roxas hanging around me has some very dire consequences to it...

I clutched my chest painfully, looking down at the words that were carved into my skin. They'll never go away. It will always be my brand from now on. Everyone will laugh, everyone will jeer... _Naminé the whore_...

_Not Aqua though_.

Yes...Aqua wouldn't laugh at me, she'll always defend me...She'll help me through this and set things right...She always does. I really do love her. An older sister that I never had, and always wished for that I _do _have.

I reminded myself that I also have everyone else in the club that supports me...that made me feel I belonged to something..._a family_. That's right, just like in a family...

But it's not enough... The pain and suffering will never go away. I won't be free of the torment of the rest of the school. Just like Aerith. She had been bullied since she's around my age and she's already a senior now, plus she's the smartest girl in school! If she gets picked on then what are the chances of me being just like her?

I looked down at the street again. There were a few people walking there, I didn't want them to get splattered by my filthy remains. I've decided...I'm really, _really _tired...I want all this misery, all this pain to go away.

I've had enough. You guys want me out so badly? You win. After today you guys can fight between yourselves however you want on who gets Roxas. I won't be in the picture anymore...

I heard some shouts from the street by I didn't pay any attention to them. _I won't be hearing anything after this._

I'm sorry I couldn't be as strong as you Aqua...I tried. I really tried my best to stand up, but I guess my wings weren't strong enough... They've been broken a long time ago... Meeting you, at the very least, was the happiest moment of my life...I will never forget you _Big Sis_...

"Please don't let dying hurt..." I smiled to myself as the tears dropped down silently. _Goodbye everyone._

I let myself fall down the ledge of the roof and onto the street below.

_I'm really, really tired..._


	9. CHAPTER IX: Of Angels & Drawings& Mai

Ya-haw! We~ell I managed to come up with a new chappy faster than expected! Meh, I finally took a break from writing too much drama and guess I'm back to the whole humour gag after this :p a bit unreal on the 'Saving Nami' scene but seriously guys, I've seen how _it _is done before and it is spectacular! Well you gotta read first to know what _it _is actually... Nyway for the first time in my days of writing I've never gotten the hang of fighting scenes :p truth be told I enjoyed writing em up but I can't seem to find the right words to picture them. Nyway' I am sooooo thanking all of you for your comments! It's quite a spectacle for me to see that I've reached and surpassed the 50 mark for comments (...wow...) and now lesse' if we can reach the 100 mark! (^^) a lil' too much to ask I guess, but one could always dream! Oh and this is a good time as any to tell you guys that pairings would be subjected to change based on how the story unfolds (mainly in my head) but I like to keep them if possible :p nyway thank you guys in advance for your reviews (I take each and every one seriously!) and I enjoy reading every one of em ^^ as usual- flame me if you want muahaha! Sorry for my usual grammatical and spelling mistakes though, I kept making them out of blunderness. We-ell, without further ado~ The 9th chappie! Ya-haw!

* * *

CHAPTER IX: Of Angels & Drawings...& Maid Uniforms?

* * *

_Lightning_

_

* * *

_

"Really Demyx, I can walk just fine on my own!" I told the boy in annoyance, but he just _wouldn't _listen.

"Can't risk it Light, what if you fall down again? Are you feeling light-headed now?" Demyx asked with concern in his voice.

After getting discharged from the hospital I've had a couple of relapses and sudden, surprising times when my legs would just give away and I would fall down...hard... Serah was _extremely _worried this time, fussing about it like it's the end of the world and forcing me to go have a medical check-up again.

_I'm fine! All I had was a couple of bones broken and now I'm back on my own two feet! _Serah had gone her way to call Demyx up (since he's one of the club members that I know) in order to watch over me.

Demyx here has been an excessive case of pain in my..._rear_. Seriously, the way he fusses about what I eat and even the way I'm _breathing_. He thinks I'm going to drop dead any moment!

"I'm here if you need me." Demyx said. "If you feel like fainting jes' make sure to tell me quickly so I can catch you when you fall!"

I face-palmed myself and resisted the urge to strangle the overly-concerned boy. _Really, he's just worried about me, there's nothing wrong with that really...it's just...I'm not really used to the attention, really._

I smiled at myself at the count of 'really' I've used in my train of thought. Maybe I'm over-thinking things, it might be a good idea to have Demyx around, _just in case._

"OMG you're smiling to yourself! You're sick!" Demyx said, sounding really, and _truthfully, _shocked. The blonde boy pressed his hand on my forehead but I slapped it away quickly.

"I'm not _sick, _dolt. I'm just laughing at my own-"

I stopped myself as my 'spidey' senses started tingling. I noticed that the two of us had walked straight to the entrance of the school but no one was around.

_Funny, I'd thought the Enforcers would be around to make sure no students play hooky..._

The Enforcers are the law-upholders of Destiny High (also known as prefects, in simple terminology). They are made up of the collection of both Jocks and Culties alike, selected by Ansem himself. _And they're usually around to poke into something that's NOT their business, so why the hell is it so quiet now?_

"_Hm~Hm~Hm I believe I can fly~"_

I immediately froze at the sound of that voice. _I know that tone!_ Why the hell is here? I inwardly groan at the thought of facing that lunatic just when I got out of the hospital..._and it hasn't even been an hour yet! _

I merely stood there as Demyx too had seemed to stop moving. We waited for awhile before the bush on the right shook. I held my fists out in battle mode as a figure pops out from behind it.

A masked boy appeared while dragging along two people in his wake. They were unconscious and the boy seems to be enjoying himself, humming to his own, weirdly bizarre tune.

"_I believe I can touch they sky~ Oh yeah~"_

He hummed as twirled around and held a hand out into the sky.

"_Vanitas_." I hissed under my breath. Why the heck is he out here walking free? Wasn't someone from the Jocks supposed to look after him?

The maniac finally took notice of us as he was performing the most unearthly dance in front of the doorway.

"Lightning! And chicken-butt!" Vanitas waved at us, sounding really happy all of a sudden. The boy let go of his victims and rolled (he rolled!) towards us at high speed. He leapt a couple of metres away and stood right in front of me (I can see my own reflection on his visors).

"Aww don't look at me like that! Aren't we friends Light?" He said in a hurt voice as I stared at him.

"In all my years of knowing you, I've never known you to regard any of your fellow schoolmates a _'friend'_, Vanitas. And don't call me _Light_, _ever_." I said icily.

Vanitas clutched his chest and pretended to be gravely hurt by my comment. "T-That's really cruel Light_ning_. I've always thought of you as a friend!"

"Oh really?" I scoffed. I knew him too well to know that he's just humouring me at this topic.

"Of course! Don'tcha know? You, Fang and Cloud! Well, Xaldin was one too but I crossed him out and put him into my '_List of people I'm going Death Star on' _since a couple of weeks ago..." He ranted on. "Oh, and I suppose that new chick too, that busty vivacious chick..._Aqua_."

He's smirking! I know this bastard is smirking right now! "If you lay a finger on her..." I growled, protecting my friend. "You have to go through me first!"

"Yeah, you heard her!" Demyx suddenly said, sounding brave. _Why, I might have just changed my perspective of you Dem- _"If you want to hurt Aqua you have to go through _Light _first!" He said, jumping behind me for protection.

I rolled my eyes and mentally slapped myself. "Thank you, for the assist..._chicken-butt_."

"Hey, I'm _really _interested in her now! She's the chick Terra's been going after right? The _'melodious bluebird'_." Vanitas jumped up and down in excitement.

"Not your business. Anyways, how the hell did you manage to escape this time?" I quickly changed the topic. I didn't want Vanitas' interest on Aqua to grow.

"Oh that." Vanitas said, suddenly interested. "Got off after telling Xemnas I'm gonna' go to ice hockey practice every day after that lil' incident. Now I'm a free and new man! I'm not gonna' hurt the Freshmen anymore!" He said unconvincingly.

"And what's _that _behind you?" I peered behind him at his two victims.

"Training accident." He lied (I just know it!) "They slipped on the ice, y'know how people can be, careless."

"Slipping on the ice won't get you black eyes or rip your clothes like that!" I hissed.

Vanitas merely shrugs as he scratched the top of his helmet. Suddenly a thought hit me like a bullet.

"What are you doing here anyways?" Really, if he wanted to create _accidents _on people then shouldn't he be around the least likely places the Enforcers would be? And now that I think about it, _they _still haven't shown up yet...

"Enjoying a show." He said shortly, looking at the sky. "You guys can stay if you want, it's gonna' be a bloody fiesta." He smirked (I know he smirked!).

"What the hell are you talking about?" I' confused, what does he mean by that?

"I ran into a freshie just now on the stairs. Seemed really depressed y'know? She was looking really ragged and her clothes were thorn up and crap. I didn't even lay a hand on her but man, does she look like one hell of a shit! Someone bullied her first, and cuts her up in her skin and all that blood really lights _my _blood." Vanitas said excitedly.

"What're you going on about here? And who was the freshman?" I squinted, not making heads or tail of the story.

"Just listen, here comes the good part. She was crying and shit about it right? Said that she had enough, wants it all to end. So I figure that being the Good Samaritan that I am, I should help her out right? So I gave her the keys to the roof that I swapped from Barret and told her that a fall from that height _might just kill her in an instant_." For the first time, there was no mistaking the evilness that emits from his voice.

"Vanitas! You didn't!" I stared at him in horror. "So up there right now is-"

"A girl on the brink of committing suicide, yep." He said it so easily, almost casually.

Up on the roof now is a girl that's really depressed...and never mind the fact that she's a freshman, she's committing suicide? Who could be that stupid?

"Lookie' up there, there's the little bugger." Vanitas pointed to the sky.

I looked at the direction where he's pointing and I nearly fainted again as I immediately recognized the familiar blonde-haired girl standing on the ledge.

"Naminé!" I screamed, suddenly tensing up and focused all of my attention at the miniscule figure on top of the roof (It's really quite high up there). _Why is she up there? Where are the others? What am I doing right here when I should be up there!_

"_Man~ _From that height she'll fall down and _splat_!" Vanitas made a 'splat' noise as he had taken a chair out of nowhere and sat down.

I have no time to humour the deranged kid, right now I have to make it up there before Naminé does anything stupid!

"_Lightning!" _

My head snapped towards the school entrance and saw a familiar-looking girl who wore a fisherman's hat and a blonde-haired boy running closely behind her. _Talk about perfect timing..._

"Aqua! Cloud!" I called them. They looked like they were running against time and judging by the troubled look on their faces, I knew it had something to do with the young girl on top of the roof right now.

The two came nearer to us and Aqua bent over to catch her breath. Cloud looked unfazed by all the running, however he does looked a little bit disturbed.

"_Pant* _Glad to see you Light." The girl panted, lightly touching my shoulder as she did so. "But we have a big problem here, have you seen Naminé?" She asked urgently.

Before I could reply to that, Vanitas had done the answering for me, "Look up." He pointed with his hand.

"_Vanitas_." Aqua hissed, suddenly alarmed by the masked boy (did she just noticed he was here?). She took a step back from him and Cloud shielded her from his sight.

"You looking for trouble?" Cloud looked at him blankly, but there was a clear sound of anger in his voice that means he wasn't entirely comfortable with the maniac too.

"_Au contraire, _trouble came looking for me. Nah, I'm just waiting for the show to begin." Vanitas waved him off and again pointed up to the sky. None of the two bothered to look up (probably because they thought it might be a trick...) but I nudged them and finally, they did so.

The two of them looked up and for awhile, they couldn't register what they were seeing. After much squinting did they finally notice the small shape of the young girl standing on the ledge of the roof.

"NAMI!" Aqua screamed, completely beside herself with terror.

The young girl was still standing there, as if contemplating whether she should jump or not. Aqua had frantically begun her search for the stairs to the roof while Cloud had immediately took out his cell phone and (I assume) contacted Axel.

"We have to go up there! She's not in her right state of mind!" Aqua said with urgency.

"Wouldn't make it, the stairs leading to the roof is on the other side of the building." Demyx noted, the boy had looked quite pale himself.

"Then what should we do? The girl could- _Naminé_!" Aqua suddenly screamed again.

I looked up in alarm and saw that the girl had jumped of the ledge. Everybody was panicking; Cloud had dropped his phone while Demyx was clutching his hair and Aqua was screaming and finally Vanitas was clapping his hands while laughing gleefully.

_I picked the wrong day to get discharged._

* * *

_Fang_

_

* * *

_

"Did you hear something?" I suddenly tensed up and looked around. _It felt like something bad just happened..._

"I'm a lil' busy here Fang." Larxene said in annoyed voice.

Larxene had led us to the school's backyard (quite empty, what's up with this school and empty places?) and we heard voices coming from the back. Soon, we reached a clearing where a group of girls were spotted lounging about on the old sofas that the school had thrown out back. Some of them were smoking while others looked like they were high or something.

_Straight into the witch's den is right...this place looked like one kinda' Hell..._

They noticed us approaching and immediately their conversations stopped. There were a mixture of fear and cockiness in the looks that they gave us but both Larxene and I stared at them back with a look of pure loathing.

"...Which one of you did it?" Larxene asked quietly.

None of the girls spoke up, they were merely staring at us. Larxene was starting to get pissed (I know cuz' her veins are popping) and smashed an empty crate next to her with a swift kick.

"I'M ASKING WHICH ONE OF YOU BITCHES DID IT!" She yelled, causing them to flinch and the mutterings started.

"Trust me when I say it'll be a lot easier if you just answer her." I folded my arms as Larxene began tapping her foot impatiently.

"_Did what exactly?_" One of them finally spoke up.

"That blonde girl in the toilet, who the hell were the ones that messed her up?" Larxene said through gritted teeth.

They looked at each other confusedly before a chorus of laughter broke out.

"You mean that _whore_?" One of them jeered.

"We all did it." Another one spoke up.

"She deserved that, after we strictly warned her not to talk to Roxas anymore."

"She wouldn't listen."

"So we had to teach her a lesson."

They began talking with each other again and laughed at Naminé's expense.

"Okay, so who's the jackass that cuts her up?" I asked, trying my best not to lose my cool.

"I did." A girl with a funny looking ornament horn sticking up her head said. She took out a knife from her pocket and, "Did it slowly too, and deep so that whore wouldn't mess with us again." She sniggered.

"What's your name?" Larxene questioned. I looked at the blonde girl and I was quite surprised to see her being this calm all this time.

"Ultimecia."

_Oookkkaaayyy, that's one hell of a name. Sounds like some corny boss character from some R.P.G._

Suddenly Larxene threw _her _knife at the girl and it hit her squarely on her hand which was holding the _other _knife. The knife pierced her hand and the girl screamed as blood gushed out.

"B-Bitch!" Ultimecia cursed as her friends looked into her condition.

Larxene gave her a sadistic smile and cracked her knuckles. "Oh I'm so going to enjoy _this~_"

_Maybe she wasn't as patient as I thought she was..._

* * *

_Naminé_

_

* * *

_

_I'm falling._

I noticed the sky, the blurry surrounding, the birds... They're all moving so fast... Maybe it's better if I close my eyes... That way I won't be so scared when I hit the ground...or feel anything...

As if right on cue, my whole life flashed before my eyes. I remembered the time when I had first discovered the wonders of crayon. I was five at that time, but I had enjoyed the first moment I started to draw. I drew a picture of dad...of mom...of _Larxene_... Everyone was so happy at that time, dad was praising my drawing while mum had pinned up the picture on our refrigerator's door...and Larxene had actually kept the drawing in her room.

"_It'll be my lucky charm_." She had smiled at that time, I remembered. I also remembered her patting my head for the first time.

I started to draw everything from that moment on... I stopped talking, and all the kids in the playground thought that I was weird...They threw rocks at me for the fun of it...While I cried and protected my sketchbook from getting damaged I saw her...I saw Larxene staring at me from a distance. _Why won't you help me sis? Save me, save me, save me..._

A few years later dad had grew sick and tired of me 'behaving' this way, and scolded me for not 'acting' like a normal child. _Why won't you talk? Why do you always have to have that sketchbook with you? Say something you no-good daughter! _He took away my sketchbook after that and burnt it in our living room's fireplace... I remembered screaming and having fits of tantrum, and dad...he hit me...for the first time in my life.

It grew frequent after that...and finally mum started to vent out _her _anger at me too...and Larxene...she just stood there, just looking at me as usual... They forced me out of my room and live in the attic after that, where the window is my single way of seeing the outside world... I was allowed to draw after that, thankfully. But whenever I complain or ask for something the beating always arrived swiftly...by dad...by mum...and Larxene...just looking at me and stood idly by, as usual...

I was saved my grandma a few years later, when she came around for dinner on my thirteenth birthday...She found out about me when she knew something was wrong..._ "Why are you covered in bruises dearie'? Did something bad happen to you?" _

Grandma took me away forcefully, saving me from my parents and my sister...just stood there and watched, as usual. I became sickly after that, not used to being around the sun anymore, and the fact that I was homeschooled for the past few years didn't really help at all with my condition. I was weak, always had been, always will be...

Grandma took care of me since then. She had no complains whatsoever about my obsession with drawing, she even encouraged me and said that it was a _talent_. I knew that she was the one who threatened my dad and mum to post my allowances to me, either that or she'll report them to the law. It didn't matter how much I got, all that matters is that I'm with Grandma...but she left me too, two years after that... Taken away from me, by some _disease_.

So I'm left all alone again, in my castle of solitude and loneliness. A dorm this run down, surely no one would stay here anymore...not when my Grandma's not around to take care of it. I never went out after that, always depending on the money my parents would send me and have the delivery boy from the grocery shop to send the food to my doorstep... A life of loneliness, yet again.

But somehow I managed to muster the courage to enter Destiny High...I didn't know why I entered in the first place...Probably because I saw the girls that had stayed in the dorm when Grandma was around... All of them had gone to Destiny High...and they were all so _happy_. I wanted that same feeling too. I love drawing, but I also want to know how it feels like to make friends, to fall in love.

The first day of school was a nightmare. I put my hopes up too high and tried to see the best in people..._How stupid was I to believe in that? _I was bullied right away...pinned as the best target for people's malice, a source to vent out all their anger. Just like how mum and dad used _me._ I don't like it here anymore... It's scary... _Someone save me._

Then Roxas came into the picture. He flashed that smile that he's shown to so many others and treated me in a different way than the others. He showed concern over me, he made me feel safe, as if _I'm loved_. But all that affection had its consequences... And the bullying intensified from simple jeering to physical abuse. _Whore, whore, whore. _ _Naminé the whore! _I grew scared, so I asked Roxas for help...but he just laughed! He thought I was being paranoid, and that there's no way any of our classmate would do such a thing! He always looks into the best of people, like how I did before... I stopped believing in him after that, there's no way that this boy can ever help me... And I was left alone, all alone again...

"_Just let me die._" I sobbed and surprisingly, I felt myself crying again.

"_Now why would someone so beautiful speak such disheartening words?"_

Suddenly, and quite surprisingly, I felt two arms wrapping themselves around me and before I knew it, a sudden jerk was felt and I was dangling in mid-air. I bobbed up and down like I was hanging onto some kind of _bungee rope_. I blinked several times and looked at the ground. There were a few people shouting and among them was..._Aqua! _My heart lightened up as I saw her and there were also Cloud...is it Cloud or Demyx there? I couldn't really see...but that pink-haired girl must be Lightning. _Why are all of them there?_

_Why am I not falling? _That would've been the right question to ask right now... I should've hit the ground, but here I am hanging in the air with...wait, how exactly am I dangling in the air here? I remembered feeling a pair of arms around me and...

I slowly looked up to see a pair of bluish-green eyes looking at me. My heart skipped a beat as I stared at the most beautiful face I've ever seen. His long silver hair lazily swayed around, his bangs covered his eyes and when he tilted his head is when the colour of his eyes was shown in full. He flashed a serene smile at me and I wonder...have I actually hit the ground and going to heaven now? If so, then he must be...

"An angel..." I breathed wistfully, eyeing the silver-haired angel with admiration.

The angel chuckled and shook his head. "I'm afraid I'm no angel miss, I'm just a normal seventeen-year old." His voice was so gentle and...sexy? Can I say that about an angel? Wait, he just said that he's a normal boy...

I noticed that only one of his hands was holding onto me while the other was holding a...rope of some sort. _It really was a bungee rope...wow..._

So I'm alive? I'm still breathing...so I must be. I didn't notice it but I was crying again, and the miserable feeling flooded my heart.

"I want to die." I sobbed as I wiped my face. "Just let me fall." That way, everyone will be happy, especially me.

"Don't speak of such words." The angel/boy spoke, "I'd give you a prep talk but I don't think this is either the place or time...wait one moment..."

Effortlessly, he pulled on the rope and slowly, we made ourselves back to the ledge of the roof. I didn't fight back against him, rather, I just stopped moving at all. I let myself get dragged back up and he gently pulled me into his arms. I felt the gentle, beating of his heart when my head was pressed onto his chest and I noted how warm it was when he had wrapped himself around me.

We stayed there for awhile, and I was comforted by his presence somewhat but that doesn't change my thoughts on committing another freefall again...

"You should've just let me fall..." I mumbled, feeling the fresh set of tears falling down.

"I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did." He answered truthfully, stroking my hair gently.

"I don't want to live, just let me die." I sobbed. "No one wants me around, I'm just a burden..." Before I knew it, I poured out every bit of misery that I've kept for the past years and told my whole history to a totally unknown stranger. I sobbed and sniffed quite a lot, but he was kind enough to listen to me till' the end.

"...and I couldn't take it anymore...They even left their mark...look..." I showed the boy the part of my flesh which was cut, and I felt ashamed of it so I immediately hid it away.

The boy gazed at me sadly, and hugged me tighter in his arms. "I don't know who would be evil enough to do such a thing to such an angelic being in front of my eyes right now."

I noted how weird his way of talking was but I don't mind...He is somewhat comforting... "I don't deserve to live, I just get in everyone's way like always." I said miserably. It was partially the truth, but I felt like crap whenever I became the damsel in distress that someone has to rescue. _Just like right now..._

"Do you really think so? Do you truly believe that by killing yourself the world will be a much better place? There would always be someone you left behind that's going to be sad if you're gone, didn't you think about that before?" It wasn't a question, more like a direct, piercing echo shot straight into my heart as his eyes burnt fiercely with passion.

I chuckled lightly at his words. I couldn't help it, I ended up having fits of giggles despite my depression and held a hand pressed against my lips to stifle the sound.

"What's so funny?" They boy raised an eyebrow. He looked totally confused and had no clue why I just started giggling.

"I-I'm sorry, it's just that...You reminded me of someone I know." I ended my giggle as I wiped a single tear from my left eye. He sounds totally corny and his English is kinda' swanky but..._his words sounds just like what Aqua would say. _

"I meant what I said though." He said, sounding somewhat relieved now that I've calmed down. "You gave me quite a fright, if I haven't come up here to practice my bungee jumping you would've-"

"NAMI!"

Suddenly a piercing shout interrupted the silver-haired boy and I turned to see-

"Aqua..." I mumbled, staring at the panting girl. She was breathing heavily and had bent over to catch her breath as she adjusted her glasses (she found em'?) and clenched her bangs (no luck with the hat though...it's missing).

She staggered haphazardly towards us and stood in front of us silently (somehow she's still standing...) to catch her breath again.

I quickly pushed the boy away gently and stood up to face the girl. She looks really bad...had she been running the whole time?

"Aqua I..."

SLAP!

My words were cut short as I felt a painful slap across the face. I swayed to the other side and touched the spot where Aqua had just slapped me. It really stung and my eyes were wide with shock as I just stared at the blue-haired girl dumbly.

Aqua was breathing really weirdly and it looks like she's gonna' collapse any second. "_You-idiot!_" Was all she managed to say as her eyes were immediately filled with tears.

"Why'd you even- Of all the things Nami you- At least tell me if- _Oh dear_..." Aqua didn't manage to finish any of her sentences as she hiccupped and wiped the still running tears in her red eyes. Finally she managed to regain some of her composure and gave a look so frightening (She never scowled at me like that...) that I withdrew my steps and bumped into the boy who had stood up behind me.

"A-Aqua I-I-" She's really scary right now! I squeaked as she slowly inched closer to me and instinctively I hid behind the boy's back. He raised his eyebrows in a surprised way before chuckling lightly (Oh sure you can laugh, you're not the one getting the death stare!) and raised his left arm to reveal a part of my face.

"Riku- _move away_." Aqua hissed (_She hissed!_). The boy dropped his smile and quickly stepped aside, abiding the demoness without a second thought. I wanted to say _"Don't leave me!" _but I was too busy cowering in fear from the girl in front of me (Is it just me or does her shadow has horns on them?).

Aqua raised her right hand towards me (Somehow it looks totally like she wanna' strangle me) and I flinched, shutting my eyes close and raised my own arms over my head to protect it.

"You dummy..."

Suddenly I felt two warm hands wrapped around me as Aqua rested her head above mine, one of her arms stroking the back of my head.

"Don't ever do something like that again..._Please_...You really gave me a heart attack y'know that? I-If Riku hadn't caught you just now I-I...I don't want to imagine what could've happened to you." I felt her warm tears dropping to my head. "I'm here for you, I'm always here for you..." She mumbled on and on until she stopped and merely embraced me in her arms.

"_There would always be someone you left behind that's going to be sad..."_

I cried. Someone cried for me even though I'm still alive. For the first time I cried for that very reason. Someone was here for me. I hugged her back and let the tears drop down silently.

"Thank you..." I sniffed and smiled (I didn't know why, it just seems appropriate).

"Let's go down now Nami, everyone's gonna' want to scold you too now." Aqua sounded stern suddenly, frowning at me but she had a small smile plastered on her face.

"Mmhmm..." I mumbled agreeably, burying my face in her ample chest.

"I don't know how I can thank you enough for saving lil' Nami here Riku but if there's anything I could do..." Aqua said over my head, assumedly to the silver-haired boy. _So his name is Riku..._

"We-ell there is one thing you could do I guess..." Riku answered quickly, a little too quickly perhaps.

I looked behind to see the boy smiling at me, his serene blue eyes gazing at me with...I dunno'..._passion_? (I think so...). My heart skipped a beat as he inched his face closer to mine until we're a breath away from a-_a kiss..._

"Think you can help me with my art project?" Was what came out from his mouth.

Maybe I interpreted the look wrongly... Oh well...

* * *

_Aqua_

_

* * *

_

The intense and suspenseful Naminé drama ended quite shortly after that. Seriously, it's like it never happened in the first place. After we got down to the ground floor everybody was already hanging around waiting for the two of us. Greeted by cheers and a wave of relief washed over us as Naminé apparently got a stern earful from Aerith and a really, really long lecture from Cloud about committing suicides (Even the gruesome details of a splattered head).

Fang appeared shortly after that, spotting a black eye and appearing in the messiest of state (shirt and skirt all torn askew, much to the other guys' pleasures). Yuffie though, had been rampaging around school and disturbing classes so much that school was cut short and she got suspended for three days as a result. Roxas looked relieved for a moment but his smile dropped when Naminé had moved towards Riku and even more shockingly, had hugged him in front of everyone. As a finishing blow, the silvery-haired boy had taken in his stride to bravely kiss her on the forehead. The scene proved too much for Roxas, who was just staring at the two dumbly as if all senses had left him.

In the end all of us made a group hug, promising to come to each other if we were ever in need of advices, or just someone to talk to. Cloud and Axel were very reluctant, but somehow they got dragged in by Demyx and cringed at the slightest touch of the others.

I noticed Larxene hiding behind a pillar nearby and wondered what she's doing there (Maybe she's the real bully after all?) but Fang patted my shoulder and as if reading my mind, shook her head. "She's alright." Fang said with a grin on her face. I don't really get it but I guess it's fine if she doesn't have anything to do with it.

I smiled a bit as I looked at everyone (It kinda' reminded me of the first time all of us met). While the others were busy interrogating Riku (Yeah well...He wasn't exactly a usual clique of ours was he?), Axel had took my hand and gently dragged me away from the commotion.

We arrived at the clubroom and I sat on the sofa as Axel had lighted up a cigarette (I immediately threw it away before he even had one whiff).

"You wanna' get suspended?" I frowned at the redhead. He merely shrugged and sat on the swing (we have a swing people!) and swayed back and forth, looking out the window absentmindedly.

After awhile he stopped swinging and looked at me seriously. "You were great out there." A compliment? That's kinda'...nah, he always compliments me.

"That sounds like a cheesy line from a cop movie." I teased him. I don't like it when Axel started off all serious, cuz' if he does then the next thing that comes out of his mouth will definitely be-

"I was really useless back there."

Bingo. He'll bash himself for the mess. I sighed and took off my hat and glasses, scratching my nose and thinking of a way to cheer him up.

"Oh sweetie..." I walked towards him and soothingly stroked his hair. I bent my knees and gave him an encouraging smile while putting a finger on my lips. "Not another word from you kay'? I don't want to hear anything about it being your fault or that you could've done something about it or anything." I raised one of my eyebrows up and cupped his cheeks. "So cheer up kay'?"

I rested my forehead on his (I seem to be doing this quite a lot these past few weeks...) and stared back at his acid green eyes. "...I dunno' how I've been able to live without you all these while." Axel joked...or so I thought. I chuckled at his words, thinking it was another one of his attempts to make me blush but...he looked really serious right now.

The atmosphere has suddenly turned quite heavy, not in a bad way but...I had a tingling sensation that it was the same as the time a certain SOLDIER boy confessed to me...(Geez, is it just me or is it getting hot in here?). I gulped and wanted to pull back my face but Axel had grabbed the back of my head, holding onto my strands of hair.

"A-Axel..." Okay, if this is another one of his pranks then I'm _sooo _gonna'...

"Aqua I..." Axel began. _Please don't say the love word, please don't say the love word. _I shut my eyes and feign deafness. "...Really think you ought to go see an optometrist, your eyes are really pretty y'know?"

...Wait, what? I opened my eyes and immediately frown at the boy. That was it? The thirty second of suspense was for that one lousy comment? That sounds _sooo _like you Axel...

"Thought you were the one who said that I should hide these babies? And those glasses are just for show y'know?" I huffed at him, crossing my arms and pulled myself away from the redhead. _Stupid Axel..._

"Yeah well..._waitaminute_, I forgot that those were just decoration glasses..." He mumbled absentmindedly.

I stare at the boy for a moment, studying him in detail. Axel can be quite sharp most of the time but...I have a suspicion...If ninety percent of the time he's intelligent then could the other ten percent be impossibly dumb? I mean look at him! He's practically staring into space right in the middle of his speech!

I shook my head and massaged my forehead. Really now...

* * *

We didn't stay long inside the clubroom, school was out and Axel had to go to the Headmaster's room for yet again another attempt on Amarant and Beatrix.

"I swear if that dreadlocks makes another pun on my tattoos I'll pulverize him, with or without that idiot's consent..." Axel muttered darkly (I assume 'that idiot' refers to Terra).

"It won't be that bad, just...keep your temper in check and you'll do fine." I patted him on the back and waved him goodbye as he continued muttering darkly while walking off.

I hurriedly packed my stuffs away, waving goodbye to Garnet and Kairi in the process. They were really worried about Naminé too but I told them she's fine and that I'd go into details this evening (We're having a slumber party, yay!).

I walked halfway home with Naminé (of course!), Lightning, Serah, and Demyx. The sisters had decided to accompany Naminé in case the bullies show up again and Demyx...I dunno' really, he just seemed to fuss around on Lightning.

"Seriously you should've seen how Vanitas went crazy after Riku saved your butt. If Terra hadn't come along we would've been in serious trouble." Lightning retold the story to Naminé.

"Terra was there?" My interest piqued at the mention of the Herculean boy. So he was around ey'?

"Yeah, he got a call from someone I think...about the Enforcers going missing and all that so he dragged Vanitas away before he could do any real damage. We sent the two casualties to the infirmary later though, turns out _they _were the Enforcers..." Demyx shivered as he plucked a string on his guitar.

"Who are the Enforcers?" I asked curiously. Besides the Jocks and Culties, I'm kinda' surprised we've got another faction in our school and it's the first time I've heard about them.

"They're like the prefects of the school. Trained for combat and strict upholders of the law, they're a group of strong people led by a guy named Leon. He's in my class and word on the street is he's one kind of hell-raiser." Lightning commented and strangely she looked out of colour quite suddenly.

Before I could ask more about this 'Leon' character, Serah had started to fuss on Lightning who had apparently stumbled on her own feet and dropped some of her textbooks.

"Are you really okay Claire? I'm really worried about you, maybe we should do some more check-ups..." Serah mumbled worriedly as she helps her sister out.

"No, I don't like hospitals Serah and I definitely dislike check-ups." Lightning said defiantly as she looks away. I caught a glance of Lightning's face when she turned...she looked kinda' worried actually, I wonder if she's really okay...

"C'mon Light, you should do what Serah said. It wouldn't hurt to get some help from the docs huh?" Demyx tried to persuade her, but Lightning shook her head.

"No way...And I don't really like needles..." Lightning mumbled as she stood up.

We walked until the junction between going to town and our dorm where I bid farewell to the three and headed towards the Princesses of Light. Finally it's my big, first day at work! I'm so excited! I finally got to do some decent job and earn some Munny (Finally able to buy that bikini I wanted!). Best of all, it's a perfectly _normal _job with no whack jobs involved.

* * *

"...What is this...?" I mumbled to Lulu as I held up my uniform...or whatever amount of cloth more like.

"It's your new uniform. You should be proud, you're the first girl we ever tested...I mean, given the opportunity to wear that outfit." Lulu smiled (evilly I might add) and patted me on the shoulder.

"I'm the guinea pig you mean! W-Why can't I wear the normal uniforms like the other girls?" I protested. Why can't I be normal just this once? _Wwwhhhyyy?_

"Uh-ah, no arguments. You've skipped quite a lot of days and think of this as a sort of punishment. Besides, a lot of male customers are into this kind of thing right now." Lulu made a 'tut-tut' sound as she took away my hat and glasses. "As per our agreement, no funny-looking accessories too. I'll put them in the employee's locker until you finished work."

I sighed and admitted defeat. I've been called the 'Ice Queen' back in Middle School but Lulu here takes the cake for being the evillest of evil. "I'll go change..." I mumbled and hunched my back as I tottered towards the employee's changing room.

* * *

"W-Welcome b-back M-Master." I'm definitely not enjoying this! I was in charge of greeting the customers today and worst of all is that I'm wearing this ridiculously tight outfit..._a maid outfit! _The dress is a little tight-fitting and the skirt is really, _really _short, as in, if I dropped my pen and bent down everyone could see my... Let's not go there shall we? I had to wear a frilly headband and a bell for a necklace, but at least the apron has a front pouch to put in the pencil and notes for taking down orders. At least I'm not showing much cleavage, which would've been the end of everything morally righteous.

"Uh...Ah..." Was the only response I got from the two males as I bowed and chauffeured them to their seats. I dunno' why but the number of guys in this cafe suddenly increased tenfold, more than usual. Lulu was looking really pleased and Wakka had to pitch in to cook the dishes.

I felt kinda' uncomfortable with the way the guys are looking at me...it's kinda' perverted. _Eww, _I bet some of them are having some kinda' lewd fantasy about me right now. I shivered but managed to smile at the new customers as I took down their order. I handed the piece of paper to the counter and resumed my position as the call girl- I mean, _waitress_.

The next few hours passed by and I began getting used to the working environment. Well, I am kinda' adaptable to these kinds of situations so it's no big deal. Although Lulu had to chase out a guy at one point for feeling me up...he should've paid for that kind of service _sigh*_. The other girls who worked there were really nice, like that girl Terra Branford (Coincidental names huh? The girl's name was the same as Terra!), who showed me the ropes around the cafe. She was nice enough to sympathise me as she knew of the manager's crazy schemes.

The cafe's doorbell rang, signalling another new customer coming in. I quickly assume my posture and bowed. "Welcome back Master, how would you like me to serve you today?" That line could really cause a misunderstanding right?

"_Hubba~Hubba~_" The voice whistled.

_Waitaminute_, that voice...and that whistle...it sounded totally familiar...I inwardly groan and shut my eyes..._Please don't tell me it's..._

"Hey there cutie-pie, mind if I have you for dessert instead?" Axel wolf-whistled again, giving me a smirk so wide I swear his face is about to stretch. Beside him was...I inwardly groan again- _Terra_ (Not the female Terra unfortunately...).

Why in Kingdom Hearts' sake are these two maroons here? Are they lost or something? Shouldn't they be on the other side of town right now? Whatever the reason might be I'm gonna' go to the sea right now and drown myself in it before I die of embarrassment.

"W-What might your reason for visiting us today be, M-Master?" I forced a smile and wanted to throw up at the last part of the sentence. Axel looked like Christmas came early for him and Terra was just staring at me with those same eyes the other customers were giving me (Well I suppose I could forgive him, he is a growing boy...).

"_Blunder _boy here was hungry so he dragged me for a bite to eat. Wasn't really liking the situation one bit but seeing you right now..." Axel studied me from top to bottom (I unconsciously shielded my chest). "...But seeing a sexy-thang' like you right now makes it all good." He smirked and sneakily used his fingers to climb up my bare shoulders.

"_Stop that, the manager's watching_." I whispered dangerously. "_A guy was chased off with half his face purple cuz' he was feeling me up_." And I don't really want to get fired on the first day of the job honestly.

"Somebody touched you?" Terra suddenly snapped out of his daze. "Who was it? Was it that guy?" He pointed at a shifty-looking boy sitting near my post. "I'll teach him a thing or two. I'm gonna'-"

"TABLE FOR TWO! OF COURSE, RIGHT THIS WAY MASTERS!" I announced loudly and pushed the two boys into the far corner of the cafe out of reach from the other customers (At least they won't cause much ruckus here).

Axel was still smirking and watching me while Terra desperately tried his best not to look at my chest but...he just keeps on looking... I handed them the menu and waited patiently for them to order (Just like how a real maid should!). "W-What would you like to have?" I asked stonily, although I'll admit I was gritting my teeth.

"You forgot to put 'Master' at the end." Axel corrected me.

I stared at the boy in disbelief. He's clearly enjoying this! "...I-I'm sorry, _Master_." I'm _sooo _gonna' murder him when I finish my shift later.

"That's better." He smirked again. "I'll have the Hot Mocha, extra whipped cream and go easy on the milk kay'? Not too sweet and I like my whipped cream to look like fluffy clouds." _I want to whip you right now you porcupine, tomato-coloured rodent...You..._

"I-I'll have what he's having." Terra mumbled, putting down the menu. "Y-You look really cute y'know?"

_Oookkkaaayyy_, another random compliment from Wonder Boy! Oh yeah, it wasn't enough of me blushing from wearing this embarrassing outfit, now I have to turn even redder from his out-of-place flattery. Terra grew bright red too, suddenly ruffling his hair madly but his eyes were still locked on me. However I spontaneously grabbed the menu and began twirling my hair nervously.

"T-Thanks." I mumbled and looked down at the floor (Hey, that tile is really interesting! Let's look at it!). "J-Just wait a sec, I'll go grab your orders." Why am I stuttering? Maybe I should get away from here quickly...

"Oit' you totally dropped your act just now y'know? Geez..." Axel sighed as I made my way to the counter.

I returned a few minutes later with their drinks. As I put down their cups Axel sneakily grabbed me by my bell and pulled me closer to him.

"_Axel!_" I hissed. This is _sooo _not the place to be acting childish! "_Let go!" _I whispered urgently, feeling unconsciously airy at the back of my uniform.

"This is one kinky outfit y'know that? Can really turn a guy on." He stared pointedly at Terra.

"I think that's the real purpose of this costume." I agreed miserably. In a way Lulu had thought up the most effective way of luring in Munny-spending guys by having me dressed up like this... I sighed and tried to pull away but Axel ran a finger up my neck, which sent chills down my spine (Seriously!).

"Maybe I should really have you for dessert...You look good enough to eat right now, what with the rosy smell and all..." I know that Axel was just teasing me, but I couldn't help feeling embarrassed by his comment. I've put up against more perverted comments before but not in this kind of outfit! This is in absolutely no way a Superhero outfit!

Suddenly I felt myself being pulled away from him. Terra had stood up and firmly held me in his arms, his eyes locked into Axel's.

"Got something to say to me Herc?" Axel raised his eyebrows, his smile died down.

"Yeah, I don't like how you're drooling all over this girl." Terra objected as his grip tightens on me. _Hmm, somehow he smells really nice though_. I chanced a sniff as both the boys' attention was on each other and man oh man! Terra's actually wearing cologne!

"What? I'm drooling over her? You're the one who clearly wants to get it on with her!" Axel gave an evil grin while folding his arms.

"I don't want to _get it on _with her! Stop putting words in my mouth!"

"I haven't put anything in your mouth yet dumbass! And what's with you playing hero all the sudden huh?"

"I'm always there for a student in need of my help!"

"Don't give me that bullshit, you left me alone back in third grade when we got chased by those dogs!"

"I went to get help! And besides, that was your fault in the first place for opening a hole in their pen!"

Their argument strayed further and further away from the intended topic and I wanted to stop these two from their silly little banter but...something feels wrong here... Something's been pressing against my chest for quite awhile now and it's really rough...

I looked down and saw what made me squirm..._Oh dear... _"Terra..." I mumbled the boy's name, tugging on his shirt.

"Yes?" The Herculean boy snapped his head towards me.

"Could you...move your hand away please? I-I don't think this is the right place to be doing these kinds of things..." I mumbled embarrassedly, my face turning red.

It took him a good few seconds before he cottoned on what I'm saying. His left hand had been groping me all these while and neither of us noticed it...Well I kinda' felt it but... Oh dear... He quickly stumbled away from me and waved his hands around frantically.

"I-I didn't mean it! I swear! It was an accident, I didn't really mean to-!"

"It's okay..." I let out a sigh. "I know how growing boys are, what with your hormones and all that...Zack was like that too once... I guess you're just as lecherous as the other boys are (no malice intended)." I shook my head while the heat on my face cools down.

Terra's eyes grew wide with shock as he shook his head violently. "No! I'm telling you it wasn't on purpose! I'm-!"

"It's really fine Terra, just don't do it on other girls kay'?" I gave him a comforting pat on the back while Axel was laughing gleefully for some reason.

The boy looked like he swallowed a goldfish as he yelled out loud; "I'M NOT A PERVERT!"


	10. X: I'm Going On A Blind Date

Ya-haw! I'm baaaaaacccckkkk! So sorry for the late update, I kinda' rewrote this a few times cuz' well...I'm finally gonna' bring in the biggest badass in all of Final Fantasy universe into the fic! Well I've gotten myself into a pickle in uni but everything's fine now that I'm updating my fic (which quite possibly is the only reason I'm alive right now). I've also been reading a lot of CloudxTifa fics here and I have to say _'Diaries of a Broken Man_' really cracks me up. Somehow it made me cry as well, what with the dramatic ending and all, it's sooo cute XD Anyways someone is getting a date in this chappy and I know I'm gonna get some burns for this pairing but I don't care! Muahaha I'm evil and I like to fool around with our dramatic heroine here! Anyway R&R, I do appreciate getting them, and also comments too :) Sorry about my grammatical and spelling errors, which I try to minimize as much as I can! Love you loyal readers and reviewers soooo much! I hope you guys continue reading this fic and to all the Favourites and Alerts I do appreciate them! (Imagine seeing the mail I get when someone listed my fic! ^^) I love you all and without further ado~ The Xth chappy! Ya-haw!

* * *

X: I'm Going On A Blind Date

_Aqua_

"I swear it was an accident! C'mon! At least _look _at me!" Terra pleaded as the three of us (Axel tagging along, still laughing) walked across the beach. The boy's been apologizing persistently since we were in the cafe and over and over again I've told him;

"It's _okay_ Terra, I told you its fine." I sighed as I did so, staring at the beach tiredly. Working can be really tiresome when there are goofballs that needed to be attended to.

"See? You're looking away again! I'm really-"

"So what're you doing later Axel?" I brought up a random subject to interrupt the Herculean boy. My ears are seriously gonna' bleed if he uttered another '_sorry_'.

The redhead still had that crooked smile as he paused to think. "Uh...smoking pot?" I knew he was joking but that didn't stop me from smacking his head. "I'm joking, I'm joking!" He shielded himself as the beating continued.

"Hmph, if you said that to anyone else they might think you were serious." I harrumphed and looked at the sea again. There's just something about it that enchants me so... (The sea, NOT the boys).

"You really like it huh?" Terra suddenly said from the back. I snapped back into reality as I realized that I have stopped walking and was totally staring at the wide, open sea which reflected the Sun's brilliant orange splendour.

"Mm-hmm, there's just something about it that makes it all so perfect... The sea is really neat dont'cha think?" I grinned at the muscled boy, who I somehow couldn't understand why he's blushing like mad right now.

"It's more like a huge puddle of dirt water if you ask me. Hey it's just my opinion though, don't get all riled up." Axel snorted and held both his hands up as I gave him a very affronted look.

"What's not to like about the sea? It's so pretty, especially when the water surface catches the Sun's reflection!" I argued. There couldn't be anyone on this planet that dislikes the ocean now could there?

"I just don't like it, _especially _during the night. The place looks really...empty, and really dark. I feel like getting sucked into the pitch-black ocean if I'm not careful enough..." Axel mumbled. He was looking at the sea seriously, which meant that what he said wasn't a joke.

I looked at him dejectedly; during the night was when I like the sea best. Axel noticed the face I made a ruffled my hair comfortingly. "If you asked me what's neat it should be the Sun!" The redhead quickly lightened up.

"And why is _that _huge glowing orb neat?" I scoffed. "It's only made up of gas and a bunch of rocks, nothing special about it." I purposely said that to get him riled up.

"What was that? Coming from a girl who likes a giant swimming pool filled with icky fishies?" Axel stuck out his tongue and mischievously drew closer to me.

"W-Well the Sun's doesn't have anything living on it! You'' get burned up if you go closer to it!" I said defensively.

To my surprise however, Axel nodded his head and lit a cigarette (What's with this guy and smoking?). He took a long whiff and looked at the sky, "Exactly. Everything will burn up if you get closer to it...That's what I want to be..." He exhaled a thick, hazy cloud of smoke as he stared at the reddening sky with a somewhat melancholic look on his face.

I looked at the redhead confusedly, not really understanding what he meant. Somehow, deep inside of me I felt like I understood his words, which meant that everyone around him will get hurt if he's there. That if he so much as talk to them, they'll regret it...or maybe I'm thinking about it too much...

I shook my head furiously and aggressively wrapped my arm around the redhead's. Axel snapped out of his delusion and gave me a look of surprise (Terra had raised his eyebrows too). He didn't resist me so I went on to pull him away from that spot. "You smoke too much pot." I huffed (It's a joke of course, I know he doesn't take them).

Axel still had that surprised look on his face but he merely chuckled and proceeded to walk by my side. "Aye milady, me thinks me inhaled too much o' the toxic vapour."

I smiled at him as Axel turned around and stuck out his tongue at Terra. The Herculean boy gave an offended look and hurried to my other side, taking my free arm into his. The two males stared at each other like they wanted to kill the other as they tugged on my arms firmly. Boy, now I feel like a bone between two hungry dogs...

"Terra...?" I tilted my head slightly to look up at the boy's face. He merely blushed and looked away.

"I-It's only fair if I can get to hold you too..." He mumbled, which made ME blush right now.

"I'm sorry, but since when are you in any 'intimate' relationship with my girl here?" Axel smiled, but at the same time I could see him frowning (and did he just call me 'his' girl? Say _what_?).

"Your girl? Since when is she _your _girl?" Terra's grip on my arm tensed. Axel was tall but now that the two of them were standing at each of my side I could see that their height was pretty much about the same (though Axel was still taller).

"Since she became my underling. She's my property and my toy." Axel gave him a wicked smile and patted my head like a guy would pet his...well, pet.

"Don't tease him Axel...and I'm not your _toy_." I exasperated but the boy continued toying with my head anyways.

The picture of a girl being held by two boys at each of her side certainly raised a few eyebrows from the townspeople. I was starting to regret my earlier action of trying to cheer the redhead up and tried to wriggle free from both boys but alas...the two of them cling to me even tighter and I was soon dragged on my own two feet as they pulled me left and right simultaneously.

My heart sank a bit further as I saw a couple of familiar old dears walking past us and mumbling "Kids these days...they just don't know how to pick one and be happy with it!"

"I think it's romantic that they're in a love triangle...Spices the whole relationship up doesn't it?"

My face turned a bright colour of red as I hung my head low to avoid any eye contact with the townspeople.

"What's up? You sick or something?" Axel suddenly inquired, bringing his face closer to mine.

"You guys are so mean..." I mumbled weakly, still having my eyes fixed on the ground.

* * *

I finally managed to get away from the two as I walked up the stairs to the dorm. My face was still burning with embarrassment as I muttered curses in my mind at the two hormonally-challenged boys (I'll definitely ask Lightning next time on how to castrate people...).

I continued my mute tirade and didn't take to notice something was blocking my path towards the dorm. I unconsciously hit upon something soft and bouncy and fell backwards.

"Oww..." I whined as I rubbed my nose and looked upwards (Who puts a huge jell-o in the middle of the road?).

"I'm sorry Aqua! Are you O.K.?" It was Tifa. She held out her right hand towards me as her left one was clutching her ample chest.

I took her hand as I stared at her huge knockers. They were large enough to push me back a few feet... "Those things are dangerous, put em' away." I joked as I focused my eyes on them babies (What in Kingdom Hearts' name did she eat to get them?).

"They're a woman's ultimate weapon." She winked and we both laughed at the silly little joke (Nothing small about her boobs though).

"What're you doing here?" It wasn't that I didn't like her here or anything like that...it's just plain weird that she'd appear in front of the old dorm when we're not that close (Again, don't misinterpret; we're good!).

"Oh well, y'see I've been looking for a place to stay since my foster dad is...away, and he'll be gone for a really long time so I looked up your address and found this nifty place!" Tifa explained as I took notice of the bags she had surrounding her (Quite a lot of em' too).

"You're bringing the whole house with you?" It easily reminded me of myself when I first moved here.

"Only the essentials." Tifa turned red at my comment as she hurriedly grabbed all of them.

"Let me help." There are really a lot of them mind you.

"Oh you don't have to do that." She smiled as she waved me off. She grabbed hold of them and in one mighty swing she slung the bags on her shoulder as if they were as light as feathers!

"Tifa...IS your secret identity Super-Girl? Cuz' if it is I can help you cover it up y'know." I whistled in awe as Tifa turned red again.

"T-They're not THAT heavy. Only clothes and stuffs..." She mumbled as she turned towards the dorm.

"Define the 'stuffs'." I said cheekily but decided not to press her further- I'm gonna' ravage her bags soon enough anyways muahaha!

As I opened the doors I was immediately tackled by something light (Wasn't as strong as Tifa's knockers though). Naminé was squealing happily as she hugged me and rubbed her face furiously in my chest.

"You're back! You're back!"

I was glad to see her in a good mood (unlike how she was a few hours ago) and rubbed her head adoringly as she dragged me towards the couch. However to my surprise someone was already sitting there and it's not the usual male character I'd _usually _see in the dorm (Meaning = Xigbar) or anywhere near me before. It was Mr. Jecht.

He was sitting in the armchair and was flicking through the television programmes at top speed. He looked bored as hell. Mr. Jecht took notice of me and threw the remote control onto the carpet.

"Oh you're back. Great, now you can take this kid off my case. She's been saying '_Oh Riku this...' _and '_Oh Riku that...' _all day and it's making my ears bleed." Jecht yawned.

"Well I wanted to tell _somebody _about how cool he is...and Uncle Jecht was the only one around." Naminé frowned playfully at him. This little gesture frightened me quite a bit, since when was Naminé in first name basis with the coolest teacher in school? (She called him uncle? Wait, did she just said _Uncle Jecht_?).

"Right, now you can go talk Aqua's ears off." Jecht said in his gruff voice although he didn't seem to mind being called 'Uncle'. What's more surprising is the fact that he knows my name!

"Um...Hi?" Somehow I always do the weirdest of things in these kinds of awkward situations (Hell, I even waved at him!).

"Wondering how I knew your name kiddo?" Ack, he read my mind!

"Um...Yeah...Uh and what're you doing here?" Well there's another million questions going on in my head but...

Jecht chuckled lightly as he placed his feet on the coffee table. "I'm the current caretaker of this dorm. This missy here's grandmother is an old friend of mine and she signed me in her will for this place...and guardianship over her too, can't escape that I'm afraid." He pointed at Naminé. "I ain't saying I'm the greatest of guardians though, what with the crap she took at school when I'm always going out of the island..." Jecht grumbled further, in which I think he knew about the scar on her chest.

All of this information is new to me. Why hasn't Naminé told me any of this? As my brain tried its best to consume the information Mr. Jecht went on;

"And I knew you from the lil' piece of paper known as the 'registration form' right here, what with your picture and all..." He pointed towards the registration table, reminding me of the first night I got here yet again. "Thought I'd come up here and check on the new tenant y'know? Say hi." He surveyed me from head to toe and weirdly gave me an approving nod.

"Mr. Jecht?" Tifa's voice interjected (She'd dropped her bags it seems).

"Oit there, seems like your twin bombers grew some fair amount since I've seen them ey'?" Totally a dirty joke made by an old man.

Tifa shielded her breasts from view as she rolled her eyes. "I see that you're as subtle as always." However she let him pat her on the head anyways.

"Say it as I see it." Jecht grinned at her. "So you got that boy of yours yet? What's-his-name? That chocobo head..." He scratched his head as he tried to remember Cloud's name.

Today seems to be a bad day for Tifa because her cheeks just kept turning redder and redder by the moment. "I-I don't know what you mean, C-Cloud's just a friend from my childhood days..." Tifa mumbled as she handed him what looked like a registration form.

"Yeah, and I'm finally gonna' read Tidus a bedtime story tonight." Jecht snorted as he read the piece of paper. "You moving in here? What's gonna' happen to that bar o' yours in the back alley?" He raised his eyebrows. Wow, Tifa owns a bar? In the back alley, the most dangerous part of town no less?

"It's still business as usual from seven till two in the morning of course but I'm a little short on Munny since Zangan took all the bar's profit to go on his journeys again." Tifa explained briefly. She shifted her hands to her hips and looked at Jecht indignantly as he snorted again, folded the piece of paper and placed it into his sash (around his head).

"The old man's doing good too? Funny how we seem to miss each other when we go out." Jecht mumbled.

"He's fine but I wish he'd at least be a bit more responsible as a 'parent', if you get the hint." Tifa cocked her left eyebrow up, implying something towards the elder man.

Astonishingly Mr. Jecht responded by playfully sticking his tongue out (The old man's actually really childish...). "The brat's doing fine on his own. Wish he'd at least think like a man now that he's seventeen but...that's too much to ask for; it's like asking for a goddamn miracle." Looks like Naminé isn't the only one he's concerned about.

At first glance I thought that Mr. Jecht was a really egoistic guy who, although he laughs a lot, is the kind of guy that likes to show off and thinks little of others (stereotyping, I know). But now that I've gotten to know him a little more...he's actually a sweet guy. A little gruff and his language could use some soaping (reminded me of Mr. Cid) but he's the type who doesn't show to the world how much he cares about concerning the people he loves.

I smiled a little at my own thoughts. Unluckily Mr. Jecht saw that and that made him frown.

"What're you smiling at kiddo? Checking out my guns?" He cracked a smile as he pumps up his muscles. _Oookkkaaayyy, maybe he's a lil' bit on the showing off side!_

"As if." I rolled my eyes, suddenly feeling very comfortable with the topless man (Oh yeah, now that I see it...he's not wearing any shirt or shoes...).

He cracked another grin and laughed in a fatherly manner as Naminé gave him a very disapproving frown.

"You'll get used to him...I wonder how the T.V. people fit him into their shows with that enormous head of his." Tifa sighed. The brunette ran a finger across her silky, smooth hair while she too rolled her eyes but I could see a small smile forming on her mouth as she watched Mr. Jecht laugh.

Garnet had once said it though, that Mr. Jecht was really popular with the kids at school but I also remembered something she had said when we were discussing about him. A single sentence that could easily be forgotten yet holds a great worth of meaning.

Now I understand what Garnet meant when she said "_Everybody loves Mr. Jecht."_

_

* * *

_

"So he's not staying here then?" I asked the blonde girl for the umpteenth time.

"No...he's staying with his family somewhere in town. You can see Uncle Jecht at school Aqua, don't worry. He'll be around for the semester he said." Naminé answered patiently (suddenly our roles changed places).

"_Aww _shucks." I kicked the empty space in front of me as I held my hands behind me. He really was one of the coolest adults I've ever met (Save Mr. Auron, Mr. Sazh, Mr. Barret and Mr. Cid but...).

"If I didn't know any better I think you have a crush on him." Naminé giggled.

I knew she meant that as a joke but if I think about it now... "Yeah now that you mention it...maybe I do." I meant that as a joke. Seriously. So why did they both looked at me like I caught some kind of disease? Naminé was looking really flustered and Tifa merely raised her eyebrows.

After a moment of silence a heavy mood sets in, something which was totally not right and _sooo _wrong. "Hey...You guys know that I was joking right?" I suddenly had the urge to bow in front of them to plead my innocence. The girls made an 'o' shape with their mouths and all of us burst out laughing...uncomfortably...It died down quite fast as the heavy mood lingered. Crap, they didn't buy it.

The three of us were in Tifa's new room as we helped her settle in and tore her bags open (Muahaha, I told you I'd see her stuffs!). She brought her entire wardrobe with her (Her outfits were quite...revealing if I have to say so myself), accessories (All of them are so cute!), boxing gloves (Okay, she has eight pairs...), barbells (...), alcohol drinks (She mumbled about had mistakenly brought it along with her), and as we ravaged her other stuffs a single picture flew out of her almost empty packs.

I snatched it before it dropped and studied the picture. It was a girl wearing a cowgirl outfit, I immediately knew it was Tifa when she was younger. Besides her was a boy who looked around her age with ridiculously spiky blonde hair. I also knew who he was right away. Cloud wasn't smiling in this picture, rather he looked really sullen and wasn't even looking at the camera as the younger Tifa held his hand.

Seeing Cloud during his childhood times is really something else. I've always pictured him as a real hell-raiser when he was a kid, but here he was in front of a camera looking really docile and holding hands with Tifa.

"We took that picture back when we were in Nibelheim." Tifa seemed to have noticed me staring at the picture. The brunette had given up on trying to stop Naminé from poking in her wardrobe choices and had spread herself on her new bed.

"Nibelheim? Isn't that somewhere near Midgar? What're you doing so far away from Destiny Island?" Three questions in one strike, wow.

"Oh, Cloud never told you did he? The two of us aren't exactly natives of Destiny Island. We moved here after our home was burnt down and that's when we met with the kids here. You should prolly' know that Axel and a lot of the other kids moved here around the same time we did."

Another moment of silence fell upon the room as I slowly try to swallow that bit of information. The brunette looked at me quizzically, her face changing slowly as it dawned upon her that no one bothered to tell me THAT.

"I-I mean surely Axel would've tell you in a couple more days! O-Of course Naminé must've told you that she was from Traverse Town too right?" Tifa looked at Naminé confidently but the blonde stared at her back in pure horror as she too failed to mention her birthplace before.

"No she hasn't." I said shortly. "And I assume Terra's also an outsider?"

Tifa didn't answer but one look at her face confirms my suspicion.

"Great...Thanks a lot you guys..." I mumbled lowly as I frowned upon the image of Axel and Terra in my mind. To think that I told them a hell lot of worth about myself and they didn't even bother to tell me that they too, had once been an outsider before. I mean, it wasn't a big deal really, it's just that...well...I'd prefer if they had told me they knew how it felt to be a stranger in an unfamiliar place. That way I wouldn't have felt like there was a barrier between us in the first place.

The room was deathly quiet until Naminé broke the tension. "A-Are you angry at me for not telling you that?" The girl looked at me anxiously. I stared at her blankly and I see the tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"No I'm not." I sighed and went to pat her on the head. _Something this miniscule isn't worth getting angry at, just calm down girl._

"B-But you _look _angry." She sniffed. Curse my well-trained death glares.

"I was angry Nami, but not at you or Tifa." I shifted my eyes towards the brunette. "...but I am going to murder a certain red porcupine-head tomorrow..." I mumbled darkly.

Deciding not to let my mixed emotions get the better of me (maybe it's already that time of the month...), I took a deep breath and changed the topic; "Okay, boy-talk now. So when did your crush on Cloud began? Was it back when you guys were in Nibelheim?"

If I want to help them get together I need to have all the information I can get from this girl here. Maybe the way I asked was a bit too casual because Tifa was so startled by that sudden question that she actually slipped off the bed and fell to the floor.

"W-What?" She mumbled embarrassedly as Naminé helped her up.

"I need to have all the details straight if you want me to help you with Cloud." So spill girl!

I crossed my arms and waited for the girl to calm down. She took a few deep breaths as I sat next to her on the bed while Naminé sat on a wooden chair in front of the room's already designated study desk.

"We were neighbours back then. I didn't really know Cloud much back then cuz' he's really quiet and while I hung out with the local kids he's...he's always alone y'know? He didn't like mingling with the other kids and he's always playing his wooden sword alone somewhere in the mountains. The others thought he was just snobby and I thought that too so I didn't pay any attention to him at all."

So he's been an Outcast since he was younger ey'? Poor Cloud, I can see why he doesn't talk much now.

"I started to notice him more after we moved here. On the day my village was burnt down I was really injured and I thought I wasn't gonna' survive that for sure. Next thing I know I woke up next to Zangan, my foster dad now but he was my martial arts teacher back then, who told me we were in Destiny Island. He told me that Cloud was the one who had carried me all those miles from Nibelheim to Destiny Island. He didn't even let Zangan touch me and only did so when he needed to heal me of my wounds."

I listened intently. So Cloud, who was thought to be an arrogant, friendless bastard (pardon me, I seemed to have put my own opinion on him) had saved Tifa from an untimely death and also strangely protective over her? Sounds fishy to me.

"Cloud was in a real bad state cuz' Zangan said he forced him to use all the Potions he had to heal me and wouldn't even use one to cure himself. I felt really touched that time...and something else sparked inside of me when I saw him lying on a bed next to me all wrapped up like a mummy. He actually smiled when I stood up and said '_Thank God_', when he couldn't even lift a finger. I tended to him for the next few weeks but he was growing weaker and weaker...I was sure he wasn't going to make it. I cried a lot but he kept saying it's okay...It's okay if he dies and that I'm gonna' live...I hated that caring part of him, I really did." Tifa smiled sadly at her own words, lost in her memories.

"T-That's when Zangan heard about the SOLDIER project. I remembered a couple of men in black suits coming to our house one day asking if there are any children willing to be a candidate for the experiment. I didn't want to take part in it and I didn't think Zangan would let any of us participate but Cloud said yes. I saw the fire in his eyes when he did so. He said that it was his dream actually to become a SOLDIER...to become like his hero, he said. The men promised that he could walk again but he'll be away for a long time...He agreed and I let him go only because I wanted him to retrieve his old life back. He was only seven back then and I was sure I wouldn't see him again..."

"But he came back right? I mean, I remember Axel saying something that they were old buddies or somewhat..." I recalled the redhead's conversation with the lonesome rebel some weeks ago.

"Four years after that. I can't believe my eyes though. He was walking and talking and _breathing_. I couldn't have been happier. I was already friends with Axel and Terra so I decided that this time around...this time I would include him in everything that I did. He was always quiet, but I guess he sorts of warms up to Axel after some time. He always disappears though, if I remember. Always being called for something involving SOLDIER work..."

"All SOLDIERS are required to complete missions that were given to them, no matter their age or situation, and if the need arises, they need to prepare for a long journey too. I suppose Cloud frequently disappears for as long as a few months right? I know cuz' my old boyfriend did." I said quickly when I saw Tifa giving me a confused look as to how I know that lil' bit of detail.

"You dated a SOLDIER before?" Tifa raised her eyebrows, impressed.

"Yup, he was Third Class way back then...Wonder how he's doing now though?" I said bitterly. Tifa had stopped talking and I noticed Naminé giving me a very curious look. Oho, I know that look when I see it! _No way, no sirree... _

"I'll be right back." Naminé said happily, and she made a dash towards the door as I lunged and failed to grab her by the ankles.

"Why'd she just-" Tifa made a very confused look but I know the little blonde she-devil (Did I call her an angel all this time? I take my words back!) all too well.

"Naminé! _If you call anyone I swear I'll-!_" I started but I knew it was all for nought. In a short time I feel it in my guts that there's gonna' be a few doorbells ringing in the night.

* * *

"Where's the popcorn?"

"Still in the microwave, hey! That's my potato chips!"

"Dem budge over, you're taking up space on the bed with that guitar of yours!"

"Why are there guys in here? It's a girl's dorm!"

"Better yet...why is _he _here?"

Everyone turned to a certain Herculean, brown-haired boy who looked as if he didn't know how he wound up in here.

"I- Tifa invited m-me here." Terra stuttered, crossing his legs uncomfortably in the corner of the room. I noticed he was sitting quite close to me and I chanced another sniff at his cologne. _Pure bliss~_

"Do you always sniff at guys when you meet them?" Oops, busted. Terra smirked as I turned a bright shade of pink.

"Only if they're worth it." Ha, take that!

The boy didn't reply back and it annoys me the way he kept smirking and looking all high and mighty.

Apparently the boys and girls from our club were called in by the lil' she-devil and I don't why in Kingdom Hearts' name Tifa decided to call Terra as well.

"I called Snow, but he said he's on a date with Serah." Tifa frowned as she snaps her phone shut. The girl dropped herself down next to me, making me squeeze tighter towards the Herculean boy (Did his smirk just got bigger? Oh no it didn't!).

At her words Lightning grew a shade of pink. "Serah told me she went to Vanille's to finish their art project!"

"Vanille's at my place playing with Marlene." Fang prompted, eating a large bucket of ice-cream.

"I'll murder the both of them when they get back..." Lightning mumbled darkly through a chorus of laughter.

"So why are we all here? You do know we have classes tomorrow." Axel voiced out. The boy had been standing in another corner of the room with his arms crossed. Somehow the idea of being in the same room as Terra and Tifa made him jumpy...for want of better word that is.

"That's a laugh, coming from you." Kairi snorted.

Just to be clear, the people currently in _my _room are; Axel, Ven, Demyx, Lightning, Fang, Tifa, Naminé, Kairi, Yuna, Terra, Yuffie and Aerith.

Another knock was heard and Cloud came in shortly with a bowl of popcorn in his hand.

"Alright so who ordered the pop-?"

Poor guy didn't even get to finish his sentence as the others (Ven, Demyx, Yuffie and Fang) lunged at him for the popcorn, making him fall backwards and bits of popcorns flew into the air.

"Oh dear." I pitied the guy as Aerith helped him sit up. She giggled as he mumbled darkly about killing them later.

"Now now, there's no need for that tone right now is there Cloud?" Aerith smiled warmly as she picked out several popcorn bits in Cloud's hair.

Tifa merely grumble incoherently and looked away sadly as the couple (at least, I think they are) shared a moment. I glanced up and could've swore Axel gave a sympathetic gaze at the girl. I blinked my eyes and he had reverted back to his old demeanour.

"So why are we all here?" Cloud repeated Axel's question, his eyes turning to slits as he stares vehemently at the munching group.

On cue, Naminé coughed to get everyone's attention. "She said she dated a SOLDIER before."

Why do you have to say that oh sweet, dear, ex-little sister (I'll bury you alive the moment we're alone).

The room became silent momentarily (Even the munching group seems to have stopped munching. Continue munching people!) And a loud "EEEHHH?" filled the room.

"You never told me that before!" Demyx still has his fingers on his guitar string, strumming it harder than needed.

"I know she has a boyfriend before but...a SOLDIER? Just like you huh' Cloud?" Axel smirked at the blonde guy who had turned very quiet.

"What's his name?" Now the chocobo head has _his _attention on me. I stared back into his serene, blue eyes and knew that he had been injected with Mako energy. _So Cloud was in SOLDIER..._

"It doesn't matter does it? And why are you all so surprised anyway? What's the big deal with dating a SOLDIER?" I scoffed, but even I knew the impact of that. _Dating a SOLDIER is like dating a guy who wears a neon sign behind his back saying 'kill me anytime you want!'_

"C'mon girl, even you know how SOLDIER guys are. They're crazy powerful, and didn't that company that made em' even said they're mentally unstable? No offense there mate." Fang said quickly, turning to look at Cloud. However if you are wondering, Axel has given each of us telepathic messages (joking, he kinda' stares at us real hard) to not give out my name in front of Terra.

"None taken." He waved her off but he was still staring at me.

Now all of them were busy discussing about SOLDIER. Almost about the general idea though, about them being called monsters and fighting maniacs. I couldn't even argue with that cuz' if I remembered correctly, Zack was one hell of a chore to stop from getting into school fights back in the days.

"So is he still in SOLDIER? What rank is he?" Again, Cloud asked in an interested tone.

I shook my head. "I don't know...Last I heard he was Third Class and he went for a mission in...Nibelheim. Didn't come back after that."

Suddenly the images of that day flashed before my eyes.

"_Why'd you have to go? It's not necessary for you right? Leave it to the First Class to finish the job!"_

"_I can't Aqua, this is my chance to prove to Angeal that I have what it takes to be a SOLDIER! It's my honour!" He thumped his chest several times._

"_Is your honour more important than me?" I asked, looking at him with a hurt expression._

"_N-No, you know that I love you lots right?"_

"_Sometimes I think you kept telling yourself that just to please my ears..."_

"_Not true! Ask and you know I'll do anything for you!" His pride was hurt, it seems._

"_Then stay with me. Don't leave me, n-not after everything we've been through."_

"_It's just a couple of weeks! All I have to do is look into the Mako Reactor there and come home!"_

"_Going to Nibelheim takes weeks! It'll be MONTHS before I see you again!" I grabbed his hand, tears pouring down._

"_...Please understand me Aqua...I...I really have to go!" He looked at me pleadingly, his eyes torn between his mission and myself. I have to let him go...I knew it in my heart._

"_...Fine..." I mumbled, rubbing the tears away. "But as soon as you come back you'll have to see me got that? If you don't..." I growled._

_He flashed a smile of relief, and sighed. "I know I know...Hey how's this? I'll meet you at the Colin Tree! That's our favourite spot right?" He grinned._

"_How am I supposed to know when you'll be home? As soon as I hear news about you I'll come running there so...Be it days, be it sunny or rainy you'd better wait for me there SOLDIER boy!" I hugged him, rubbing my face on his chest._

"_I will. I'll be there even if a hurricane hits that tree!"_

"_Keep your word...I love you Zack Fair..."_

_Funny thing is, if I'd remember correctly he didn't reply back. It was months later that I heard the company Zack was in came back. I was happy...so I waited at the Colin Tree for him as I said I would but he wasn't there._

"_Trust Zack to be late...sheesh." _

I knew. I knew they were going to ask me about Zack. I didn't say his name throughout the story when we first met, the story that I told Terra. The boy listened intently though despite this being his second time. I also left out the bit about our little lover's quarrel and told them I simply said I would wait.

"Aqua...!" Naminé suddenly gasped, pointing to my face.

I touched my cheeks and noticed that there are tears coming from my eyes...Funny, I don't know why am I crying? I thought I left this all behind ha ha...

"Sorry, guess I got caught into it a bit. I-I'm gonna' head out and get some fresh air." I gave them a winning smile and set out, not looking behind.

* * *

"Man...Why am I always acting like a sap when I talk about Zack?" I muttered as I kicked an empty can. _I've already let him go, he's of no concern to me! He can play SOLDIER all he wants and I couldn't care less!_

"Maybe cuz' you still love him?" A quiet voice spoke.

I squeaked and turned around to see Terra (did the boy follow me here?). Only now did it hit me that he's wearing casual clothes (A white t-shirt and Bermuda shorts...not bad). And it also hit me that I'm only wearing an overlarge t-shirt and skimpy shorts. The boy seems to have studied me from top to bottom, and looked away embarrassedly as I held up my arms across my chest unconsciously.

"Still wanna' cup a feel?" I teased the boy.

"N-No! And I told you it was an acc-"

"An accident." I finished for him. "I know." I smiled at the boy as he smiled back.

The air is chilly in the night as we circled towards the back of the dorm. We were surrounded by nature's gift and I kinda' like the comfortable silence that came between us. It gave me the chance to get my head back together while gawking at the delicious muscles of said boy walking next to me.

"So...What happened after that?" He finally asks, breaking the silence.

I sighed as I twirled around the place, looking at the sky.

"I waited...From morning until night and repeated the sequence every day...every day for two weeks...That's when it hit me that he's not coming back..." I said blankly, fighting hard not to let the tears fall. "Nothing at all...He didn't even break up with me properly..."

I suddenly found the sky to be extremely interesting. I tried to distract myself from any thoughts on Zack and noticed a falling star...yeah, let's go with that.

Suddenly two warm, strong arms wrapped themselves around my neck. I felt him hugging me from behind as his face came close next to mine. Rooted to the spot, I felt a blush creeping up my face as his breaths hit me on my neck and make me shiver (and it's not from the chillness I tell ya').

"T-Terra" Oh dear, what's this I'm feeling? I held my hand up towards his in order to make him let go of me but somehow that said hand seems to have a brain of its own cuz' I soon find myself rubbing against his skin. _It's kinda' rough, but smooth at the same time...weird..._

The boy had shifted his hands from just my shoulders towards my waist. I didn't stop him as he pulled me in for a tighter hug. _What am I doing? I'm not supposed to lead him on like this! B-But this feels kinda' good..._

"Aqua...that's your name right?" He breathes out, sending chills down my spine.

"Ungh, H-How'd you know?" _Of course..._ _Naminé had called my name out just now...Axel's not gonna' like this. _I couldn't stand the way he's making me feel right now...my whole body's sending me weird signals. _Maybe it's not so bad now that he knows who I really am.._

"It's a nice name, didja' know another girl in school has that name too?"

Oh. Snap. Suddenly all the fuzzy feeling I had vanished. I cocked an eyebrow up as I stared at him in disbelief. Is he really that dense?

"I-"

"Oho, so this is where you two wound up."

I froze as I looked around in alarm at the voice. _Oh no, of all the people to find us it's-_

"Yuffie!" I said my cousin's name with horror.

The ninja girl was grinning at me like a mad cat as she had her hands in her pockets. I quickly push away Terra and smoothed my shirt out.

"If you guys are gonna' get it on you're gonna' need this." She threw something that looks like a ring towards Terra.

The boy caught it and he made a look of utter shock as he stared at the ring-thing.

"What the hell! I mean- We were just talking- We're not gonna-!" Why is he acting so...crazy right now?

I took a peek at that thing and I find my own face about to explode from embarrassment.

"Yuff!" I said in disbelief. She couldn't have thought we were gonna'...

"Hey, I'm just saying. Play safe now or mum and dad are gonna' kill me for not giving my cousin some protection." She waved her hands in front of her.

I grabbed the despicable thing from Terra and threw it into the forest. I was breathing really heavily as I turned to grab my cousin (soon to be _dead _cousin) and dragged her away from the spot, leaving the perplexed boy behind.

"_Owowow_, what's the deal cuz'?" She said innocently.

"Oh don't you act all innocent and pure now missy!" I glared at her as I crossed my arm.

She grinned as my glare intensified and I placed my hands on my hips. "Now now let's not get hasty...I'm just telling you that as a concerned sibling I-"

"What do you want?" I sighed, if I let this girl continue talking it'll never end till next week.

"Oh, just wanna' look for you...y'know, after you told that story about Zack you kinda' went pale and stuff." Yuffie suddenly looked...concerned. Scary thought.

I didn't know what to say to that though so I just mumbled "Yeah" and made circles in the air with my finger.

"You can't keep running away from the past cuz'." Again, that concerned tone. Did she drink those wines Tifa 'accidentally' brought?

"I'm not running away from anything." I said irritably. It's true, I accepted the fact that Zack dumps me with grace and-

"See? You're crying again." Yuffie sighed. The girl held her hand to my cheeks and I saw those shiny, fresh teardrops on her fingers.

"Ugh this sucks! Why am I so sensitive when it comes to Zack?" I mumbled, wiping away the tears. So maybe I'm not really over it, prolly' cuz' it's my first love and all that.

"There there..." Yuffie said soothingly as she patted my back. She may be an airhead most of the times but my cousin is the most dependable person I could count on when I'm in a bad pickle.

"Maybe you need to start see other people."

"What?" I raised my eyebrows as the she gave me a..._sagely _look. Highly unnerving.

"You heard me." Yuffie said in an annoyed tone. "It's time you start seeing other guys cuz'! I mean, our school here is like a factory for producing hot males! Can't you think of one person you'd like to know better?" She suddenly grins and stares pointedly at the woods.

"Terra?" Seriously? Him?

"You guys were kinda' getting it on just now." I hit her on the head as she whines and rubbed the spot.

"I'm not really ready for a serious relationship Yuff." It's true, what if I get dumped again? I don't think I can mentally prepare myself for it!

However, my cousin seemed to have read my mind as she shook her head. "It doesn't have to be _serious_. Just go out with him and have fun. Just one date, and who knows? Or would you rather go out with Axel?"

"Not in a million years." I said quickly. He might be my best friend but that doesn't mean I like _like _him in that sort of way.

"Ouch, he'll be hurt if you say it like that."

"Hmm...Okay, say that our idea might be _humanely _reasonable...are there any viable choices of male species for me to go out with?" Yeah, what harm could there be with just one date right?

"Now you're talking cuz'!" She grinned and took out a small, black notepad from...you don't need to know where. "Here's a list of the 'hot' boys in our school with the highest rank is five stars and the lowest is one, choose your favourite flavour." Ew, the way she says it sounds _sooo _wrong.

"B-But I don't know any of them! Can't we go out in a group date or something?" I looked at her pleadingly.

"No way am I going out with a guy." She snorted. "Okay how about this- I'll set you up on a blind date. I'll ask the guys around to find a decent looking dude and you guys can hit it off at square one!" Sounds like a plan...but am I really going to trust Yuffie on this? She's not exactly matchmaker of the year...or the century I might add.

"Just trust me on this cuz'." Oh, she read my mind again. "How about this Saturday? It'll give you lots of time to prepare and I'll give you the time and place when the guy is set." Before I could even reply she had already took out her cell phone and began hitting the keypad furiously.

I sighed and held my hands up, defeated. There's no way I can stop Yuffie now when she's in such fervour...

"Hey you know what they say cuz'; you gotta' jiggle that wiggle and push those tush to snag a guy!"

"Please don't use lewd terminology with me..." I mumbled, regretting my choice already.

* * *

How the hell did Saturday turn up so damn quick? Between balancing schoolwork and my part-time job (which has been really tiresome with the increase of _male _customers) the week went by without a hitch...unless you count the number of slushies and coke that were dropped upon me.

The jocks seemed to have regained their status as school bullies and became more violent-prone ever since the 'Vanitas Saga'. They seemed to think it was safe to go out again once Vanitas was out of sight. Although Terra had warned them not to mess with the outcasts, a lot of them, mainly Kuja and the jerk Seifer, had taken upon their stride to make my life miserable.

I always have to prepare an extra set of school uniform in my gym locker as cold, hard slushies rain down my head (luckily my hat saves me the trouble of washing my hair) and drenching me in sticky water. Few of the time I was saved because either Axel or Cloud was with me but as for most of the time...not so lucky.

Thankfully Naminé doesn't have to suffer like I do. The girl is now always seen with the local heartthrob Riku. Although this caused another wave of jealousy amongst the girl population, they were much less inclined to do anything to her seeing as Riku is a much bigger threat than Roxas. Speaking of the boy...let's just say he's in a downward spiral of depression ever since Naminé started going out with the silver-haired boy.

Anyway back to the present, here I am waiting in front of the Princesses of Light (it's my day off) for my blind date. Yuna had taken to choose my wardrobe for me and Kairi puts on my makeup (No way in hell am I letting Yuffie touch my face with those things). A simple blue dress with a white skin-hugging jacket and some hairclips, pretty simple if you ask me. However they made me discard my hat and glasses as they didn't want me to ruin my first ever date (Hey! I've been on lots of dates before...with one guy...).

I already told Yuffie to keep it quiet from the guys but she told me it won't be necessary...one way or another they're gonna' find out. It's a pretty small island we live in.

"Hope he's not some kinda' pervert..." I mumbled to no one in particular.

I looked around the street and waved to a couple of people that I know (Most of them are the customers from the cafe). I kept glancing at the huge clock inside the cafe to check the time.

I glanced down the street and someone caught my eyes. Not just mine though, a lot of heads (mainly females) turned to watch with fascination as the most beautiful man I have ever seen (scratch that; _drop dead gorgeous!_) was walking my way.

His hair was silky smooth and long, silver in colour. His complexion could rival the models I've always seen in magazines. He was really tall and was wearing a simple black shirt (his top button was open _he he_, I can see his chest!) with matching black jeans and shoes. The guy was holding a bouquet of flowers and seemed to be looking for something.

As he came nearer I tried to blend in with the surrounding, I didn't want to look like some kinda' stalker (I keep gawking at him!). However to my surprise as my eyes accidentally met his, he flashed me a smile. I gave him a confused look and looked around to see if he's actually smiling at another person but...was it just me or did the crowd around me seemed to have disappeared?

"Aqua, I presume?" His voice...it's _sooo _dreamy!

I felt a blush creeping up as the man stood a few inches away from me. He smelled like a bed of roses and when he flashed me that smile again I could see his pearly white teeth.

"I-Yes, yes I am." Okay girl, calm down. Don't let him see that you're totally freaked out! "And you are...?" Hmm, Yuffie failed to mention my date's name and how come he knows mine?

"I'm Sephiroth. Forgive my late introduction you see, I was astounded by your beauty that my mind seemed to have stopped moving." He bowed a little. "These are for you, I bought them at Aerith's flower shop. You do know Aerith right? Such a nice woman..."

I accepted the flowers and mumbled a quick "Thanks" while still gaping at him.

"Shall we go inside? I believe the heat does no good to your complexion." Sephiroth offered his hand. I looked at it uncertainly but decided to take it anyways.

Inside the cafe I felt my face turning redder and redder by the second as the people inside turned deathly quiet and was staring at us pointedly (Hell, even Lulu and Wakka had gone out of the kitchen to look at us).

Terra (the girl version) took down our order and she nearly fainted when Sephiroth said "Thank You". We sat at the corner where I pushed Terra (the guy version) and Axel into the first time I worked here.

The two of us looked at each other and I turned away quickly, blushing at the same time, when he flashed that smile of his again. _This guy is too perfect! It's almost impossible!_

"So do you find our school to your liking Aqua?"

"H-Huh?" Oops, I didn't catch that.

"Is everything alright at school? Have you made friends yet?" He asked again, putting his hands together on the table.

"Oh, yes everything's okay I guess. I got loads of friends already, mostly my classmates." There, isn't that easy? He asks, you answer. A conversation, people call it.

Sephiroth nodded approvingly and he ran a finger through his hair (God they're so smooth!).

"S-So why'd you agree to go on a blind date?" That was kinda' blunt, but I have to know. I mean, this guy is a perfect one hundred on a scale of ten so he shouldn't have any problems finding a girl right? So why go on a blind date with chances of meeting...I dunno'? A walking disaster like me?

He raised his eyebrows in surprise (God he's gorgeous!) but quickly recovers. "Ah...You see I'm quite a shy person in reality so I depend on my friends to help me find a date. It so happens that one day a certain girl named Yuffie happened to pass by my class and told a friend of mine of _your _detail. I was quite intrigued so I wanted to meet you in person." He gestured towards me politely. "...The melodious bluebird."

"I see." I nodded, taking in the details. "So...what exactly _did _you hear about me?" I raised my eyebrows as the man chuckled quietly into his hand.

"Quite a lot...it interests me to great lengths. Tell me, is it true that you've once dated a member of SOLDIER before?" He drew his face closer to mine.

Curse Yuffie a thousand-fold for telling that story. I didn't even have to respond as my face already answered his question. He studied my face knowingly and I was caught off-guard by the colour of his eyes...there's something familiar about them...

"...You're a SOLDIER..." I muttered quietly.

Sephiroth again made a look of surprise as he withdrew his face. "I'm surprised you knew, most people couldn't tell what with the difference in the colour of my eyes. Mine is green compared to the normal blue." He clapped his hands in mock applause.

"I sensed something...rather I felt that you're not a regular human being..."

"A monster would be the correct reference." He nodded.

"No! Not a monster!" I suddenly stood up. I noticed quite a few people were still staring at me but I didn't care. "You might not be a normal human but that doesn't make you guys monsters! I know...I know deep down you're just like the rest of us!" I placed my hand to my heart. I wanted to make him understand that he's still human, despite all the experiments.

Sephiroth stared at me for a long time before finally speaking; "You really are intriguing, Aqua." His cat-like eyes studying me with interest. It was quite unnerving that he never blinked, but a relief all the same as he smiled again.

I sat back on my seat as Terra delivered our coffees (mine was filled with milk while his was black). After drinking our coffees in silence I felt a certain comfort in the man's presence. _It's like...he's like giving the vibe that's the same like Zack's...a little different though but..._

"Shall we go now? The date hasn't ended yet I should say." Sephiroth stated as he hand Munny to Terra. "Ah, keep the change. So shall we get going Aqua?"

We left the cafe (I waved goodbye to Terra, Lulu and Wakka) and headed towards the main square. Sephiroth offered his hand again and (curse my untimely blushes!) I took it with more heart this time.

We talked a lot about SOLDIER, and I was surprised to find out that he was the first ever recruit in history.

"No way. You're telling me you're _the _First Class SOLDIER Sephiroth? The One-Winged Angel? The Legendary SOLDIER?" My mouth hung open as he nodded. I'm walking next to a freakin' legend here!

"I thought you'd be older! I mean, history books said that you were in the Wutai war _ten years ago_! And you were the one who lead SOLDIER to victory!" Trust my insights and memory on history lessons, this guy is really a freakin' _God!_

"I was, and I did. I was eight years old when that happened." He said simply.

I was in awe at the walking historical man. Seeing my face made him chuckle for some reason.

"W-What?" I asked defensively.

"Not many would find me fascinating rather than _frightening_. Are you not afraid of the monster before you Aqua?" Again he drew his face closer to mine, as if to study y reaction.

"No I'm not. I find you extremely interesting." I said defiantly. I am not about to go back on my word.

Sephiroth flashed a small smile as his grip on my hand grew tighter. "Intriguing..."

"S-So Sephiroth..." I started, but was cut short by him.

"You may call me Seph. I believe it's quite hard for you to pronounce my name like so, and a nickname would bind us closer would you think so?" _Seph _spoke.

Wow, I can call a walking legend by a nickname...cool...

"Seph." I said determinedly. "Why are walking in circles?"

* * *

For the remainder of the time we walked around and talked about random stuffs. It's funny to find out that this so-called bloodthirsty SOLDIER does not have a clue about life's finer things- like sea-salt ice cream for instance.

"What in Jenova's name is this blasphemy?" He frowned at the delicious, mouth-watering delight.

"It's sea-salt ice cream. Here, have a bite." I held mine close to his mouth. He was hesitant at first, but took a small bite anyways.

I enjoyed seeing the face that he made; first he was frowning, then he looked like he was in pain, and finally he looked like he was enjoying the taste.

"This...How do I put it? It's a flavour unlike I've ever tasted! It's both salty and-"

"Sweet. Here's yours if you want it." I smiled at the man as he delightedly tore off the wrapper and began licking the ice cream.

This date had been quite fun all in all. We visited the book shop, the armoury store (didn't know we had one), and finally back to the town square. It was already getting late by then and Sephiroth offered to walk me home.

"I-It's been...surreal, that's for sure." I told him as we stopped at the stairway. _Maybe Yuffie was right, maybe I do need to go see guys once in awhile..._

"Thank you for accompanying me today Aqua. I truly enjoyed your company." He bowed his head.

"I should be the one thanking you y'know? You're really a one-in-a-kind kinda' guy..." I beamed.

"No, it is I who is thankful. You stuck to your words and truly believed that I was not a monster...for that..."

Unexpectedly he bent forward and kissed me on the cheeks. I felt the spot where he kissed burned passionately.

"I hope to see you more, if that is alright with you. I bid you goodnight Aqua, sleep tight." Sephiroth inclined his head and walks away, leaving me rooted to the spot.

I stood there for like, a really long time before coming to my senses. I blinked and touched the spot he just kissed. Now most of the time if I ever get kisses on the cheek it didn't bother me that much but...his was...

"Pinch me I must be dreaming..." Could I really be in love with another SOLDIER?


	11. CHAPTER XI: Multitasking In One Day!

Ya-haw! How y'all doing! Aha, it feels good to finally update the 11th chappie of my fic! Somehow I feel a little sense of accomplishment from doing this since I'm practically an easily distracted person but~ We're reaching there folks! Just a lil' bit more to 100 reviews _he he_ (my dream number!) Nyway I wanna talk all of you who reviewed, messaged, and even those alerts and favourites! Thank you _soooo _much ^^ And I have a little surprise at the end of the chappie, a short chapter for you guys! Enjoy and R&R people! Ya-haw!

* * *

CHAPTER XI: Multi-tasking In One Day!

* * *

_Aqua_

* * *

That very evening I had somehow managed to make my way back to the dorm (curse my wobbly legs) and quietly made my way back to my room. I lay down on the bed for a few minutes before deciding to make some supper for myself (I kinda' got a craving for sweets suddenly).

I entered the kitchen and took out the mixer, a few cooking utensils (ladle, spoon, etc.) and checked the oven to see if there's something left in it. I opened the refrigerator and pondered upon what to make with the ingredients that we currently have (Mr. Jecht had restocked it the other day).

Let's make caramel pudding then. I put on an apron and tied my hair back with a scarf as I placed the pudding mixture into a bowl.

I whipped up the batter and prepared the caramel flavour as I noisily prepare them on purpose. I'm trying to distract myself from the date. _Sigh* It's the best date I've ever been on...not counting any with Zack's of course..._

I hummed the Cinderella song again as I made the pudding when suddenly my phone rang (_Ooh, _I've got a text message!).

I flicked it open to see that it was from Cloud. _Weird, he doesn't usually send me messages..._

_Are you back from your date yet?_

Yup, Yuffie was right. It really is a small island we live in.

_Yes, I'm in the dorm._

I texted back. No sooner has that text been sent that my phone buzzed again.

_Good, stay there. I'm on my way._

_Why'd he wanna' come here for? _It would be weird if Cloud wanted to know the details of my date. Maybe he has a feminine side...

_Okay but come in through the back door. I'm in the kitchen._

A few minutes later I heard the roars of an engine (sounds like a real monster!) and the back door flew open with a frazzled-looking Cloud entering the vicinity.

He looked really frantic and I could sense some urgency with the way he's moving (standing; he's practically vibrating).

"Caramel pudding?" I offered him the current batch I'm making.

He merely nodded and sat at the kitchen table. I turned back to the oven to see if my pudding has fluffed up. _Just a few more minutes then._

"So what brings you here Cloud?" I sat in front of him while whipping the next batch.

"You look like a cooking mom." He suddenly said, which I sensed that he was trying to compliment me.

"Thank you." I guess I could accept that...me, a cooking mom _heh_... "So really, is there anything wrong? Did something happen to Aerith?"

"I heard you went out with Sephiroth." He said bluntly.

Oh yeah, now that I think about it Cloud should know who Sephiroth is...after all they both work for SOLDIER...

"Yes I did, he was really kind and-"

"Stay away from him Aqua." Cloud suddenly interrupts me.

I felt the mood became heavier as he stares at me with an uneasy look. I stopped stirring the batch and placed the bowl on the table.

"What's wrong?" I knew Cloud well enough to know that he has a very good reason to say that.

The blonde looked hesitant at first but; "He's...not good..." He said slowly.

"Okay, I need you to elaborate more on that tiger." I sighed as I wiped my hands with a tablecloth.

He frowned, as if trying to sum up his words and then; "...He's a jock..."

"I know, he told me. He's the head of the Fencing Club."

"The _White Snake_. Aqua, there's a reason why Xemnas gave _that _badge to him." Cloud pressed on.

"Is there any significance between the snake and Sephiroth?"

"He...likes to manipulate people. Aqua, he's good with smooth words and he's also a SOLDIER." Cloud suddenly tensed.

"That SOLDIER bit is getting kinda' old." I sighed again, really now. Even you Cloud?

"No, Aqua, listen." There's a note of urgency in his voice now. "There's something wrong with him. Ever since the SOLDIER was created he's been their guinea pig. I can't tell you why but just- just stay away from that guy okay?"

"He couldn't be-"

"He's demented."

"I mean, not all SOLDIER are-"

"He likes taking advantage of people Aqua."

"Now now, how would you know-?"

"He's _pure evil_."

"Cloud Strife!"

I had stood up and placed my hands on my hips as I pursed my lips. I frowned at the boy with such intensity that he shuts up immediately.

"Now...I'll get you that caramel pudding. Wait a sec..." I guess I surprised the boy. I turned to the oven and took out the pudding. I cut a smaller slice and took some of the caramel sauce from the pot. Then I handed it to the blonde and a spoon for him to use.

"Hope you like it." I placed my hand on my cheek as I leaned on my arm, waiting for him to taste it.

The boy took a bite and gave a small smile. "It's good."

I nodded appreciatively as he took another bite.

"So have you calmed down yet?" I finally said after he finished the pudding.

Cloud nodded quietly and looked at me. _Aww the boy is looking guilty. He looks so cute!_

"I just...didn't want to see you get hurt." He mumbled.

"Look, if he really is as bad as you say he is then I won't see him anymore. Is that okay?" I guess he really is looking out for my best interest, and besides, it's not like I'm in a contract with Sephiroth or anything.

"It's not that simple. I told you that there's something wrong with his head...Once Sephiroth want something, he gets. He's kinda' obsessive...in the bad kind." Cloud said seriously.

"How bad can it be?" I mean, he's just one guy.

Somehow everyone in this island seems to have ESP abilities. Cloud shook his head as he muttered; "Sephiroth's no ordinary guy, you'll see. He'll find a way to make you his...just like Aerith..."

"Just like Aerith...?" I repeated. If I remember correctly, he did mention Aerith's name in our date...

"She...let's just say Aerith made a bad choice for her first boyfriend." Cloud looks away.

"Sephiroth was her first boyfriend? Before you?" THAT was a surprise alright.

However the boy raised his eyebrows at my statement. "Before me? What, you think Aerith and I...Oh no!" He suddenly looked flustered. "We're not together, I mean- We're not a couple."

_BLING. Official statement received by Cloud Strife. Not a couple...Meaning he's single...Meaning Tifa could...Oh, life is sweet._

"Are you sure you guys aren't a couple?" I have to recheck here. "I mean, you guys spend a lot of time together..."

"Let's just say that we enjoy each other's company...Would you say that you and Axel are a couple?" Ack, he caught me there.

I humoured the thought that Tifa could actually snag him when suddenly the boy made a pained look and took my free hand into his.

"I want you to call me. If he ever does anything to you...or you _think _he's doing something, _anything_ fishy...call me straight away you got me?" There was fire in his blue eyes.

I don't know what's gotten into Cloud all of a sudden. _He's having major mood swings for Kingdom Hearts' sake! _But I nodded my head all the same.

Cloud looks satisfied as he lets go of my hand. "Good...Now can I have a second?"

As I pour the caramel sauce onto his pudding the kitchen door swung open and Tifa (Oh sweet!) entered the kitchen.

"Hey I heard some noises here so I thought I check up on- Cloud!" Tifa suddenly turned bright red at the sight of the blonde.

Perhaps it was the surprise of seeing her crush unexpectedly, or maybe it's just the fact that she's wearing a really provocative nightdress (it's even showing her cleavage mind you) that made Tifa fluster.

"I-You-I mean-" She was lost at words. Poor girl.

"Caramel pudding?" Cloud tactfully pointed at the pudding in front of him.

Tifa nodded nervously as she sat next to him. I smiled at the brunette as I handed her another plate. The two suddenly grew very quiet as the only sound that could be heard was the metal spoon hitting the plate.

So now's my time to play matchmaker _he he_.

"So Cloud, are you free tomorrow?" I asked the boy delicately to break the heavy silence.

"Huh?" He suddenly looks up, staring at me.

"Y'know, I thought about what you said about Sephiroth and all that so I thought it'd be good if...y'know there's a way to tell him I'm seeing another guy. Maybe he'd get discouraged right?" Speak slowly girl, don't ruin this chance.

"Might be possible..." Cloud mumbled. At the corner of my eye I saw Tifa giving me a confused look. _I'm trying to help you here girl! _"So do you want me to pretend to be your boyfriend or something?"

"No, no. I mean, he knows you right? So I don't think that'll work. But let's say that I can find a guy to go out with me and y'know, you'd tag along in case he goes berserk or something...Sounds like a plan, no?" I muster up the most convincing smile I could. _Please don't let him have the Sixth sense like Zack has._

Cloud gave it some thought and finally; "...Sounds like a plan alright." He nodded.

_Hurrah! I'm on fire now baby!_

"Yes well, of course _you _have to find a date as well. That way it'd look more like a natural double date, don't you think?" Again, I could see Tifa's eyes widen as it dawned on her of my master plan.

"Hmm, but I don't have anyone I could go with...Aerith's busy tending the flower store..." He mumbled.

"Uh, I could go with you if you want." Tifa suddenly spoke up.

The girl looked like she was about to explode with that red face of hers but I knew she was trying her best to speak out.

"I mean, you're trying to help Aqua right? And I'll be able to check up on her and you as well..." She mumbled on.

Cloud looked at her for awhile, as if contemplating the thought. "It could be dangerous you know...with Sephiroth involved..."

"Oh don't you worry about me Cloud." Tifa smiled. "I'm more than capable to take care of myself."

_Smooth going there girl._

Cloud stared at her again and surprisingly gave a small smile. "Okay then, it's a date."

I swear the girl was going to faint right about now. However Tifa held it together to give a quick nod; "It's a date."

"Well I have to get going now, it's getting late. So what time should we meet?" He stood up and looked at me.

"Let's say...about noon? We'll meet at the town square." I answered.

Cloud give a quick nod and; "See you tomorrow then Aqua...Tifa." He smiled at the brunette (Oh, she's blushing again!).

As the blonde left the premise (the roars of the engine fades away) Tifa slid down the chair and under the table.

"You okay?" I crouched down, smiling at the girl.

The brunette hid her face behind her hands as she nodded.

"C'mon, we've got a double date to plan for tomorrow." I grinned again and took the girl's hand. _Oh, speaking of which...I need to find myself a date..._

* * *

"Here we go, here we go!" I said excitedly, looking at the other three. I wore my sleeveless jacket and jeans for this occasion and Tifa had put on a skin-hugging white tank top (which shows her belly, you go girl!), a pair of suspenders and a black mini-skirt. I swear I saw two guys fell from their bikes when she walked past them.

Since it was sunny outside Cloud had decided a simple plain black T-shirt and jeans (which still makes him look badass). He didn't have much muscle to show but that didn't stop him making some girls squeal in delight at the sight of him.

_Now as for my delightful date of the day here..._

Terra was wearing his varsity jacket and sports trousers (he was at basketball practice this morning) and judging from the smell of cologne that practically explodes from his entire body; he had showered at least twice before coming here.

"Glad to see you could make it." I smiled at the boy.

"Yeah well I'm still kinda' shocked that you called me y'know, thought it was Cloud since it was his phone number and all." Terra mumbled as he ruffled his hair. He glanced to the back to see said blonde boy talking with Tifa...well more like Cloud is doing all the talking and Tifa is just nodding or shaking her head.

"So...Cloud and _Tifa _huh? Never thought she could ever hitch him up..." Terra mumbled to himself.

"Not yet, and that's the reason why I called you here today." I tugged the boy's hand (enjoying the sight of him blushing! Muahaha, squirm before me!) and lowered my voice to a whisper as I explained to him about the _real _plan.

"...So you're planning to make Tifa confess?" He repeated.

"Yup, thought the girl needed some push." I nodded.

For a moment I thought I saw a trace of disappointment in the Herculean boy's face, but it was quickly changed to one that shows determination.

"Alright I'm in. So you'll be the playmaker in this match right?"

"...I have no clue what you just said but I guess so." I nodded back.

"Great so I'll be your support on this one. No worries we'll even try to score a buzzer beater if we have to." The boy was looking _way _too excited now.

"Again, I have no clue what you're saying, but I take it you understand the game plan." I held out my hand and he took it; the two of us sharing a firm handshake.

"Hey if you two are done with your whispering...can we discuss on where we're going now?"

Tifa was frowning at us with her hands on her hips (uh-oh, bad sign). We trotted quickly to them and I took out a flyer from my pocket.

"What's that?" Cloud glanced over, trying to read the paper.

"It's a flyer that was delivered to the dorm today, something called 'Destiny Isle's Fair'. Thought there'd be a large crowd going and _Sephiroth_..." I pressed that name particularly heavier. "...could be there as well."

Cloud suddenly turned serious (kinda' in a cute way) and nodded, remembering the plan. "I'll be around if he comes along."

_Okay, time to start the plan Aqua!_

"You don't have to follow me around all the time Cloud." I told him.

The boy made a perplexed look and; "But I thought the whole idea is for me to protect you?"

"Yup, that's the plan alright." I nodded in confirmation.

"So how..."

"Look, I'm scared that if he saw you together with us then he might not want to show his face so I devised a plan by using Terra..." I rummaged through the boy's jacket and took out his cell phone. "Your number's in here right? If we any of us saw him then we'll immediately call you with _Terra's _phone number."

"Why his? Why not yours?" Cloud inquired.

"Oh I'll be using mine alright, but that's for another reason." I spare a quick glance at Tifa. The brunette gave a quick nod behind the blonde boy. "_I'll help out if things aren't going so hot" _I mouthed wordlessly to the girl, whom nodded again. "Now hurry up, let's go!" I turned the boy around and pushed him.

* * *

_Tifa_

* * *

The Destiny Isle's Fair is held on a regular basis every month and each time there would be a unique theme for it; this time is 'Carnival'. A lot of the townspeople came to watch the amazing circus and the children would play at the game booths, dragging their parents without letting them catch any breath.

"I don't think this is such a good idea..." Cloud mumbled. He was sitting on a bench talking to himself while looking around anxiously to catch a glimpse of a certain blue-haired girl whom had apparently given us the slip (She ran away when Cloud was busy buying the both of us tickets).

"Oh lighten up C-Cloud." _Sigh* I can't even call his name right..._ "I'm sure she's fine. Besides, Terra's with her." I said confidently.

"But what if Sephiroth ambushes them? Even Terra couldn't-"

"Do you really think Sephiroth would sneak behind a horse in the merry-go-round and pounce at them?" I snorted as I cut the boy short. _He really has a wild imagination, it's so silly. _I giggled to myself at the thought. _Cloud...Silly..._

"Wouldn't put it past him..." He grumbled, looking at the clouds (REAL clouds. In the sky).

I bit my bottom lips nervously as I twirled the edge of my hair around. _Ugh he's really making it hard for us to enjoy this...d-date. Great, just hold in your blush Tifa! You can go through this, no problem!_

I flipped open my cell phone and re-read the message Aqua sent me:

_Aqua's guide to snag a guy:_

_Dress up real sex-ay! Catch his eyes with your boot-ay and-_

_Oookkkaaayyy I'm sure Yuffie had a part in this message! _I skipped the first advice and went to the next one;

_Act uninterested. Don't be too pushy or clingy, especially with guys like Cloud. They'd prefer a quieter companion that he can enjoy the scenery with. Whatever you do – Don't NAG! It would be a plus if you'd know his likes and dislikes beforehand and also how to handle him when he's being moody._

_Now this sounds like a reasonable advice. _I nodded and pocketed my phone (rather snug in the skirt). _I know Cloud for years now and I also happen to know what would take his mind off things, which would be..._

"Cloud." I approached the boy.

"Mm?" He answered absentmindedly, still looking left and right.

"Let's have some fun kay'?" I smiled at him (please don't be crooked, please don't be crooked!). I took his hand (breath in, breath out!) and pulled him towards the game booths.

"What?" The boy raised his eyebrows but he didn't have time to respond as I had already dragged him towards the booth with the shooting game.

The man who was handling the booth gave us a smile as I had stopped in front of the place with my arms around Cloud's.

"Mister! Please let us have a go!" I said cheerfully. Beside me, I could hear Cloud sigh as I gave him a smile. He returned mine with one of his own as he ruffled his hair with his free hand.

"Ah well, sure why not? I'll have a go." Cloud took the air rifle (quite a dangerous weapon to use in a fair!) and aimed it at the tin cans. A few shots were released and Cloud had hit all of the cans.

I clapped my hands enthusiastically as I took the prize which Cloud had won – A rather large teddy bear (Ones that are typically given away in fairs like this).

"Here you go Cloud." I handed the brown bear with a rather familiar spiky hair (It looked like Cloud's hair!) to the blonde however he shook his head and held a hand to stop me.

"Keep it, it's yours." He mumbled.

"But..."

"It's a gift from me to you. After all, I don't think a guy like me has any uses for plush toys..." Cloud ruffled his hair again.

I felt slightly giddy and happy when I looked at the bear again. _A gift from Cloud..._ "Thank you Cloud, and hey if you look at it closely the teddy looks kinda' like you." I held the giant bear up to show its hairstyle.

"No way." Cloud frowned as I playfully squish the teddy.

"Let's go check out the rest of the booths hmm?" I smiled at the boy to which he returned a smile of his own as he held out his hand.

"Cloud?" I looked at his hand confusedly.

"Wouldn't want you to get lost now would we? There's quite a crowd here today, and we can go check out the dunking booth too." It looks like the boy has totally forgotten about his supposed 'mission' as he left his hand hanging in the air, waiting for me to take it.

"O-Okay." I'm blushing, I know I am. It took all of my courage to put my hand into his as his fingers wrapped around mine delicately.

"Let's go." Cloud smiled again, taking the lead.

A moment of bliss. If this is a dream I'm having then I don't ever wanna' wake up. Cloud's holding _my _hand. We walked around until we stopped in front of a crowd of kids who were surrounding two people wearing costumes, a moogle and a chocobo to be exact. They were handing out balloons to the kids and the moogle walked over to us (a little to excitedly perhaps).

"A balloon for your pretty date, kupo?" It was a squeaky, female voice. The moogle held out a balloon towards me. "It's Free Balloon Day, kupo." She pressed on.

"Sure, thanks I guess..." Cloud mumbled as he took the balloon and handed it to me.

I muttered a quick "Thanks" to Cloud as I gripped the string of the balloon. The moogle was making some funny movements as if she was not used to move inside the costume.

"Are you new?" I asked the moogle (who was still wobbling).

"Y-Yes, it's my first day on the job. I-It's only a one day thing really...And I have to end all my speeches with 'kupo' kupo..." The moogle squeaked, trying her best not to fall.

"Okay well...We're gonna' go now..." I mumbled, feeling a bit sympathetic for the moogle girl.

"Oh, if you guys are still hanging around there's gonna' be fireworks by the end of the day, kupo." The moogle said.

"Fireworks?" Well, that sounds kinda' interesting..._Wonder if Cloud would wanna' hang out that long though?_

"Yeah and I heard it's gonna' be huge, kupo! Like real flashy and colourful, kupo!" She (the moogle) said excitedly.

"That sounds..." I looked at Cloud hopefully. _C'mon, catch on already!_

Cloud looked at me amusedly and finally sighed. "Can't really say no when you're all excited...I guess it's okay then..." He mumbled quietly.

"Yay! Thanks Cloud!" I gave him a hug and hastily pulled back. I felt a blush crept up my face as the moogle girl whistled (it whistled! And it sounded like a 'kupo!' too!).

Surprisingly, Cloud was blushing too as he mumbled "Not really a big a deal..." and ruffled his hair nervously. I squeezed my teddy bear happily as Cloud suggested (and helped) to tie the balloon to the teddy's hand.

"Let's continue on, shall we?" I said happily, this time taking his hand and pulled him straight towards the other booths. _The fireworks' the best time for me to finally...get some answers!_

* * *

_Aqua_

"You go girl." I whispered happily, watching the two going away from 'moogle girl' and heading towards the game booths. "I mean, you go girl, kweh!" I flapped my wings energetically as the kids giggled and took the balloons I handed out (Yup, you guessed it. I'm chocobo girl!).

"_*Giggle* _you're funny." A young girl giggled as she ran off with a balloon. _Ah, I remember my younger days when I was all excited about getting free balloons...course I had to run real fast too cuz' Yuffie kept taking more than one balloon..._

"Oof, you know if didn't see that for myself I would have never believed it...kupo..." 'Moogle girl' mumbled as she stationed (wobbled, more like) herself next to me.

"Didtcha' tell them about the fireworks...kweh?" I asked her, flapping my wings as I did so.

"Yup, just like you told me to. So how'd you wound up with this job...kupo?" She inquired, looking at me.

"Oh we found it by accident, we were running away from Tifa and Cloud actually and we wound up meeting the carnie manager by accident and he was looking for some teenagers to help fill some empty spots for today. Pays good Munny too...kweh." I titled my head slightly.

"Oh, thought it was funny that I saw you with Mr. Popularity...thought you guys were on a date _he he_...kupo." She nudged me on my ribs.

"N-No, well...kinda'? I mean...it was a last minute thing and...h-he agreed to help me out a-and..." Why am I flustered all of the sudden?

"Whoa, don't tell me that you're actually going out with the guy? I was just kidding y'know...and you forgot to add 'kweh' at the end of your sentence, kupo." She stumbled forward and had to hold her head together (her moogle head, I mean) so that it wouldn't fall off.

"Thanks...kupo..." She sighed as she slung her shoulders in a defeated manner. "Maybe I'm just not cut out for this kind of job, kupo. But if I don't do this then my cultural group won't have enough budget for our next activity, kupo." She sounded close to tears (Wow, whatever inspired that?).

"There, there. Time's a rough on you too huh? Don't worry I'll make sure we pull through and make enough Munny for your club and my tummy, kweh." I clenched my fist (I mean my wings) determinedly.

"You'll really help me Aqua, kupo?" She looked up hopefully (At least I think so, I can't exactly see her face now can I?).

"Of course I will! We're friends after all and you've helped me out dozens of time that I couldn't even begin to count, kweh!" I patted her back.

"Thanks...kupo." She sniffed.

"No problem at all Yuna...kweh."

* * *

_Terra_

* * *

_Oh man she looks so cute in that chocobo costume. Heck, she'd even look good in a Frankenstein costume and I sure won't be complaining. _I sighed at my own thought as I stared at her from behind the booth.

"Are you gonna' do some work or are you just gonna' stare at her all day? Those balloons aren't pumping themselves y'know." An annoyed voice spoke.

"Sorry, got distracted." I apologized and began pumping those balloons up.

"I can see that. It's okay, you can take a break if you want." The girl spoke.

"And leave you to do all this? No way." This kinda' work is really simple to understand but to do it is actually not so simple at all. My arms were already sore from all the other balloons beforehand and I could use a break but...it just didn't seem right to leave a girl alone to do all this job.

"How chivalrous." She said monotonously. "Then you can do this batch too." She carried a crate and dropped it next to my feet.

"Wha- Fine, I'll do it." I grumbled as I looked at the large pile of rubbers waiting to be filled with air. _On the plus side at least I can sit here for a little while longer. _I glanced at Aqua (in a chocobo suit) again and my battle spirit just risen up again. "Alright here we go!" _Come! I summon forth all the powers of Cosmos!_

"Heh, nice to see you found your motivation." She chuckled and nodded approvingly as she too began pumping up balloons.

"So by the way how come you're working here Paine? Don't see you as the carnie type." I asked, striking up a conversation with the girl.

"I'm not, I'm actually helping Yuna out with her club problem. Not enough budget." Paine raised her eyebrow up in a know-it-all type and stared at me.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" I raised _my _eyebrows up this time.

Paine let out a sigh and turned away. "Never mind, it wasn't your fault anyway that the budget for the culties got cut."

I stopped pumping the balloon and frowned at her. "What? How'd _that_ happen?" Am I sensing some sort of trouble here?

Paine too stopped pumping and gave me a piercing look (vicious eyes, she has). "The new budget for the semester got out last week and a lot of the cultural clubs' budgets are cut for the athletic department. Xemnas said it was 'a necessary action as the sports team are preparing themselves for the championship season and needs all the Munny they can get'. Yuna's Music Club is in danger of being disbanded cuz' they are already on low budget and that is about to get taken away too." She explained monotonously but she had a look of disgust in her face which says that she disapproves of what happened to her friend.

"How come I've never heard of that? Xemnas didn't tell us anything about that during the last Captain's meeting." I raked my brain to together to remember even if he had even mentioned a bit about the budget cut but...nope, none at all.

"Heard it from Yuna herself and you know the girl – She's too damn honest to lie about something like this. And Sephiroth confirmed it the other day during club meet." Paine replied.

"Sephiroth...Oh yeah he's your Club Captain right? I forgot that you're in the fencing club..." Suddenly I remembered why we're here in the first place. _Huh, I wonder if Sephiroth will really show up...and how the heck did he know Aqua in the first place?_

"Yeah but lately I've been feeling down on this whole 'jock VS cultie VS outcast' thing y'know? My own...best friend...is a cultie and I feel like I'm one of the damned jocks who just took her lunch money away. Not cool man, not cool." She sighed as she shook her head.

"Tell me about it. I joined basketball cuz' I _love _the game, not all this attention and 'privileges', as Snow would call it." I remembered the first time I joined the team...Boy those were some bad times...

"Well who knows...maybe if I'm too tired to deal with this crap I'll leave the club someday..." Paine mumbled and started pumping again, which indicates that she has ended the conversation.

This left me with a lot of things to ponder on. _Budget cuts, clubs being shut down, Xemnas being sneaky behind my back, conspiracy to overthrow Prinicipal Ansem! ...Nah I just added the last one up but still..._ _I've got a lot of work to do tomorrow at school but for now...I'll just be content and watch my bluebird. _I looked at the chocobo girl again and sighed contentedly.

* * *

_Aqua_

* * *

Because of the sudden part-time job I wasn't able to keep track on what happened between Cloud and Tifa but I managed to catch a glimpse of them going to the middle of the Fair to get a good view of the sky for the fireworks. I texted her a few times and she seems okay, guess she didn't really need my help.

Meanwhile the four us (Yuna, Terra, Paine and I) were sitting behind the balloon booth counting the Munny we earned (it was a one day deal).

"Let's see now, what with the hours we spent and the _strenuous _job we had pumping and giving away all those balloons...altogether we made...2000 Munny. What a lousy life..." Terra grumbled as he recounted the Munny again.

"The cheapskate promised us double if we worked double shifts! I smell a rat here!" I frowned.

"No, this is already double the payment. Each of us only earned about 250 Munny per day so if we doubled _that _we'd get this amount." Yuna explained.

"Oh." Terra and I said in unison.

"How much more do you need?" Paine asked. "The Music Festival is the week after next right? We can still make the deadline if we get more part-time jobs." She sounded really determined to help Yuna out...wow, what a good friend...

"The festival requires a total of 30,000 Munny for the equipments and decorations and the renting of the hall and stuffs... The others are busy finding sponsors but we haven't had much luck...At this rate I'm the only one making Munny..." Yuna said dejectedly.

"Don't worry Yuna, we'll do everything we can to help. I'll even cut some of my pay check I earn from the cafe for you." I patted her back.

"Y-You don't have to do that! I know that you're short on Munny so really now-" Yuna began to fluster.

"I'll cut some Munny off from the basketball team. I'm sure the others won't complain if the _captain _was the one who suggested it and besides, I kinda' feel responsible for what happened to your club." Terra cut her off.

"Terra! You don't have to bother yourself with my problem! You'll get in trouble if-"

"I still got some more Munny I earned from working in 'Noises'. I'll hand it to you tomorrow morning." Paine said in a bored tone.

"Y-You guys..." Yuna was teary-eyed now, unable to say anything.

"We're friends Yuna, this is what friends do." Pained said amusedly.

"I-I...Thank you all so much!" Yuna suddenly bowed in front of us that it shocked me.

"Y-Yuna! Get up!" I flailed my arms around as Paine grabbed her and pulled her up.

"I-It's the least I could do to show my gratitude!" Yuna said as she tried to bow down again.

"Really now you gotta' learn to leave those tradition of yours behind. This ain't Besaid Island y'know? You don't have to prostate yourself in front of your friends..." Paine grumbled as she shook her head.

"Besides, we have to help out the other cultural clubs that are in hot water too..." I raised a point.

"That'll be trouble alright, who knows how many of em' had been put off thanks to Xemnas..." Terra mumbled, ruffling his hair up.

"A lot would be correct. Even Serah's and Kairi's club are in trouble and that's saying something since Kairi's in the Student Council." Yuna sighed, pocketing the Munny that we had earned.

It's a really big deal alright. Not only am I worrying about Tifa and her date, not to mention I have to watch out for Sephy who Cloud's obsessed with telling me he's nuts, and now this. I have a knack in attracting trouble now don't I? Life is great...

"Hey, Yuna!"

The four of us looked at each other confusedly before we heard the same voce calling for Yuna's name again. We looked behind to see Tidus, Yuna's official boyfriend, came running towards us. Weirdly he was really wet and looked like he just got out of the ocean and came running all the way here.

"Tidus! What're you doing here?" Yuna asked, surprised to see her boyfriend.

The boy bent down to catch his breath before speaking. "_Pant* _What am I doing here? What are _you _doing here?" Swell, the boy's playing mind games now.

"I-I asked you first!" She huffed.

"You got a point there...Well why didn't you tell me your club's budget got cut? And why is it that I have to find out from Garnet about you working here to cover the cost of your club activity? And why didn't you tell me anything?" Tidus bombarded her with more questions.

"I-I didn't want to worry you...This is my problem after all and-"

"-that you didn't want to trouble me for it. Yeah, you said that line a gazzilion times before." Tidus rubbed his forehead as he sighed.

"Well it's the truth! Tidus, I know that you're busy with blitzball and I'm also busy with my music club and what with my shrine maiden's duty and all that. You're already stacked up with training and making time to go out with me, which I love you so much for so that's why I don't want to-"

Before we know it Tidus did something so shocking, so unbelievable that left our mouths hanging open. He had interrupted Yuna's speech by planting a kiss (a long one at that) on her lips. The two looked like they enjoyed it before Tidus broke it off. He held her in his arms as he gave her a joyful smile.

"Y'know, the whole idea about having a boyfriend is that you can share your problem with him. If you think it's gonna' trouble me if you told me about it then I'll tell you now I'm gonna' be ten times more troubled if you _didn't _tell me about it at all."

"Tidus...just said something smart..." I gaped as the other two nodded slowly.

"But...ever since the first day we met I've been nothing but trouble to you..." Yuna squeaked. I know she's trying her best not to cry.

"Yes you have. You've been nothing but trouble to me since day one." Whoa Tidus, that's harsh! "But...it doesn't mean I hated that part of you. I've always loved that part of you that always thinks she needs to be independently strong to support people. But you have me now, so that has to change kay'?" Tidus smiled again as he kissed the top of Yuna's head.

"I-Thank you so much Tidus...for being with me..." Yuna smiled, a single tear escaping her eye as she hugged her boyfriend tightly.

I felt a pang of envy and sadness when I watched those two together. I felt nostalgic, and somewhat longed for that kind of warmth myself. Maybe Yuffie was right, maybe I've been single for far too long (Just a year and a couple of months though but...). Mechanically my head swerved to look at the boy standing next to me. Terra was smiling as he watched the two together. The spiky-haired teen looked quite mature as he nodded his head appreciatively and had his arms crossed together.

_A boyfriend, huh? _I continued staring at him for a while until Paine let out an audible cough. Everybody seemed to have snapped out of their trance and was looking away from each other sheepishly.

"Really now, acting all lovey-dovey in the middle of the road...So what're you doing here spiky?" Paine mumbled, clearly annoyed.

"What? Oh yeah! I was here all day working too y'know?" He answered, suddenly excited.

"You were?" Yuna raised her eyebrows.

"Yup, thought you might need the extra Munny so here." Tidus rummaged through his pocket and held put an envelope. "There's about 1000 Munny in there. I've been working at the dunking booth all day, that's why I'm soaking wet!" He laughed.

Yuna accepted the envelope and looked at her boyfriend in awe. "Tidus...this...really now..." She is gonna' cry again! "This...I love you Tidus." She choked, pocketing the envelope with the rest of the Munny.

"Aww, I know that." He joked, which earned him a punch on the arm. "Ouch! I'm just joking y'know? Oh by the way, I had some of the others to help out as well." He said smugly, like he achieved something worthwhile.

"Others?" Yuna looked confused again.

Tidus pointed towards the back and all of us saw a bunch of our schoolmates walking around the fair. Only now did we realize that they've been around the whole time, working! All this while and we didn't notice because we were too caught up with _our _work!

"Hey Penelo we need a bunch of new papers here, the kids want to draw more!"

"Roxas give me a hand with the bicycle here I think the chain is loose."

"I need someone to refill the drinks, can you do it Hayner?"

Most of them were our classmates. Here and there they were handling the other booths and were with us the entire time. Penelo and Vaan were handling the drawing stand, Pence, Hayner and Olette were working the drink stand, Garnet, Kairi and Sora were working at the caramel apple stand, and even the gang from the Angel Wings were here...and some jocks too.

"Thought we could use all the help we can get, and Axel didn't mind me using his 'underlings' just this once." Tidus mentioned.

"Axel knew about this?" I perked up. Beside me I noticed the Herculean boy had cringed.

"Yup, he's here too. He's the one doing the fireworks show." Tidus pointed to an almost empty clearing behind the large booth in the middle of the Fair.

Axel was busy setting up the fireworks and there were bits of ashes and black powders everywhere on his body. He looked happy though. The boy noticed us (from that freaking far away? Are you serious?) and gave a wink at me. I smiled and waved back. Again, the boy next to me had gone rigid and was emitting a strange aura around him (a killing aura maybe? Nah...).

"Hey Terra! Looks like you finally found your bluebird ey'?"

I turned to see a rather large male giving Terra a bone-crushing hug. The boy laughed as Terra mumbled something about murdering him on the football field tomorrow.

"C'mon don't be like that! So you're doing some jobs to help out the culties too?" The rugged blonde gave a friendly grin.

"Didn't really plan for it but yeah, I am. So you're helping out Snow? What, Serah pulled you by the collar again?" This time it was Terra who smirked as the smile dropped off the giant's face.

"Just you wait when you and lil' miss bluebird here are officially a couple you'll get whipped too." Snow mumbled evilly.

I felt a blush creeping up as Snow grinned at me. I cupped my own cheek as I turned away to hide the blush. "We are _not _dating." I said, flustered.

"Not _yet_, would be the right way to put it. Trust me I've known Terra for years and he's a persistent lil' cockroach." Snow boomed.

"Thank you for the comparison Snow, now don't you have some work to do?" Terra smirked, pointing towards a certain unhappy looking , strawberry-haired girl behind Snow.

"Crap, gotta' go guys! See you in school!" Snow waved a hasty goodbye and ran towards his girlfriend.

"Ah, I've found you my love!"

"Great, what now?" Paine mumbled as she face-palmed herself.

A flash of yellow blurred my eyesight as I felt something brushed against me and before I knew it a bouquet of roses were in my arms.

"Oh dear..." I was stunned as I looked at the bouquet.

"Those flowers paled in comparison to your beauty, love."

I looked in front of me to see a familiar blonde boy with a tail (yes, a tail!) kneeling in front of me. If I recalled correctly, his name is-

"Zidane Tribal at your service, my princess." He bowed and kissed my hand.

I felt my own face heating up even more at the gesture. "Why, t-thank you Zidane. These are lovely." I smiled as I sniffed the flowers.

Zidane grinned joyfully as he bounded up, practically jumping on his toes as he stood in front of me (quite short, this boy is). "Our meeting here must surely be the work of fate! Now then how about I kidnap you for a ride on the lover's boa-"

"One more word out and I'll be sure to cut that tail of yours Zidane."

Garnet had apparently snuck up behind him and had watched the whole scene (well, I knew she was there the whole time but...this is just so interesting _he he_).

"D-Dagger, how long have you been here- I mean, this are for you! It signifies your beauty, my princess." Zidane took out another rose from his pocket and held it out to Garnet.

"Oh don't give me that pick-up line Tribal! I just caught you trying to pick up a good friend of mine and I happened to know you used the same line to _all _of the girls you meet here in the Fair!" Garnet sounded really angry, she even had her fists at the side of her hips.

"Aw you know how I am Dagger. I just appreciate beauty, that's all. You know the only girl for me is you." He swayed playfully on the spot.

"Yeah, keep appreciating _other _beauties and I might just do the same. Last I check that Balthier fellow is quite the _beau _too." Garnet sniffed and sharply turned around, swaying her hips as she walked away.

"Dag? Babe, you don't mean that right? Aw C'mon- Man that is one fine, _sexay _way to walk!" Zidane eyed her like a wolf would to a sheep and began following her, his head synching with the rhythm of her hips.

A moment of silent finally ensued as the bickering couple left us. I sighed but still managed to smile a little as I looked at the bouquet. _That makes two for this weekend ha ha. _

"He's a sweet guy." I made a playful grin.

"More like a Casanova-wannabe." Terra grumbled, looking at the flowers disdainfully.

"Why, are you jealous _Mr. Popularity?_"

Calling his nickname definitely deflates his mood. Terra mumbled something incoherently as the others merely sighed (what? Did I do something wrong?).

"Now that all- _almost _all the loud ones are gone." Paine looked at Tidus. "Can you explain why those maroons are here?" She was referring to Snow and Zidane.

"Well some of us jocks felt bad for taking the culties' money y'know? So we thought we could scrounge a bit to make it up to them. Snow and Zidane are helping out their girlfriend obviously. Hell, even Riku is here with Leon." Tidus explained.

"Leon's here too?" Terra suddenly snapped his head up.

"Yup, he's with Vincent helping to clear out troublemakers around the fair." Tidus nodded.

"Funny how that guy always works alone though. Ah well, not my problem." Terra scratched his head. "Well I guess that takes care of your Music Festival right? I'm sure with this many kids helping out you'll have more than enough for the rest of the semester." He smiled at Yuna.

"Yes, I'll thank each and every one of them after this." Yuna said happily.

"Now all that's left is..." Terra trailed off.

I was too busy to notice him as I was engrossed in watching Ven trying to help Roxas get his head out of a hole in the ground (You wouldn't believe how it happened in the first place). Hope finally came back from wherever he went and joined Ven in pulling Roxas out.

I stifled a giggle as I watched the three in action. Those boys can be hilarious without trying to. Suddenly I felt a firm hand taking mine and all of a sudden I was sprinting to catch up with the said runner.

"T-Terra, where're we going?" I asked.

"Just follow me." He grinned.

We slipped past the crowd and I was amazed by how agile and reflexive Terra was. He dodged and swerved around people dynamically and explosively (as one would expect of a basketball player) without so much as touching them. We finally stopped somewhere at the edge of the fair and I was bent over trying to catch my breath.

"Two tickets please." I heard Terra say to someone (still too dizzy to notice anything). He then pulled my hand again and we entered something...round.

"A Ferris wheel? Really Terra?" I frowned at the boy. He bulldozed all the way here, with me hanging onto his hand for dear life, for a ride on the Ferris wheel?

"Wouldn't want you to miss the fireworks now. This here is the best seat in town to watch." He answered as he sat across me.

"Well okay I guess...Just don't try anything funny." I warned him.

"Hey, scout's honour." He held his right hand up and his left one on his chest.

Our round thingy (What'd you call this thing? A compartment?) slowly ascends to the sky and it stopped moving when we were directly twelve o'clock in the sky (Terra must've counted on it to stop over here). I waited silently as I watched the scenery, taking in the whole view of not just the fair, but also part of the island.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" I said wistfully, still looking outside.

"You asked me the same thing about the sea." Terra chuckled, crossing his arms.

"Yeah well, everything about this island is beautiful I guess." I continued gazing at the amazing scenery around me, appreciating it more and more by the second. "And do you know what's more beautiful?" I suddenly snapped towards the boy.

Terra shook his head almost mechanically as I sighed.

"The people! Did you see what happened just now?" I pressed on.

"Uh yeah, we met a lot of our schoolmates." Terra said slowly.

"And?"

"And, uh...They're selling caramel apple?" That's the conclusion this boy came up with?

"Not that! It's the way we interacted with each other! We were all working together to save the cultural clubs right? All of us- The jocks, the culties and even us outcasts! There were no barriers between us just now, we were like in total synch!" I explained to him.

The Herculean boy cottoned on and made an 'o' shape with his mouth before nodding. "You're right, it was beautiful. I had hoped we could be as united at school but..." Terra trailed off.

"But...?" I made circular motions with my hand to urge him to continue.

"But there's too many shit happening thanks to us jocks to make that happen." Terra finished with a sad smile on his face.

A moment of silence lingered before I coughed, ready to open a new topic. "So why are you a jock then?"

Terra raised his eyebrows at the question. "It's simple really- I love basketball. That's all."

"Really? Wow, I thought most people wanted to be jocks cuz' they got all the ladies." I joked (but it's true though!).

"Yeah, that too."

I opened my mouth in shock before I caught him smirking at me. He was making fun of me! "Oh you little-" I made to grab him as he laughed.

Suddenly we heard a massive explosion outside. We looked out to see the fireworks show had already started.

"Wow! Look at that Terra!" I released the boy as I pressed my face onto the window. Colourful, bright flares shone in the darkening sky. There was a few that, when exploded, made shapes like stars and even a kite. _That one looked like an Axel original to me_. Sure enough, the next one was a cigarette shape. I rolled my eyes but I couldn't help laughing as more beautiful colours shone in the sky.

"They're so beautiful..." I whispered, still smiling.

"Not as beautiful as you though." Terra said, putting his arms around my shoulders.

"That sounds like one of Zidane's pick-up line to me." I brushed his comment off, but I don't mind the extra warmth his arms are providing. It wrapped itself quickly around my neck though and sure enough his head came next to me, resting on my shoulder. "Slow down boy." I teased as I patted his head.

"Yes ma'am." Terra obeyed but didn't move his head.

A million things were buzzing through my head now. I suddenly felt like I wasn't in control of my emotions anymore as I unconsciously rubbed my cheeks on his head, feeling his spiky hair. _This guy, whom I don't really know well enough...what could this feelings be?_

A wave of emotions hit me like a ton of brick as I (again, unconsciously!) touched his hand and gripped it tightly. _I don't want to let it go, I don't want to let go of your hand...Terra- Zack? Terra, Zack, Terra, Zack, Terra-_

"Aqua?"

My train of thought was cut off by said Herculean boy. I suddenly feel dizzy and lightly pulled away from his hug. I sat back on the seat and hid my face with my hands. _What was I thinking?_

"Are you okay? Did I do something wrong?" Terra asked, puzzled.

"N-No, nothing's wrong. I-I'm just a bit dizzy from all those flashing colours." I looked up and flashed him a crooked smile.

"Okay then..." He replied, though he didn't look convinced.

The Ferris wheel moved after a while and we managed to safely get back on the ground. I wobbled a bit and Terra caught me before I fell.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked again, now looking slightly worried. He studied me closely and I brought my face close to his.

"I'm fine, really. Just a little headache Terra." I patted his cheeks and he blushed slightly at how close our faces were.

Just then my cell phone vibrated to tell me a message just got in. I flicked it open to see that it's from Tifa.

_Hey! The date was a blast! Your advice worked like a charm oooh! I can't wait to tell you the details at the dorm! Come back ASAP (^_^)_

I smiled a little at the text message. At least we accomplished something else today too...We walked together silently after that as the fair closed down and I tried to catch a glimpse of Tifa but to no avail. I looked at Terra again and a heavy feeling sets in my heart. I don't what it is and I'm not sure if I like it. All I know now is I have to get away from him.

"Terra, I need to go now." I said suddenly, looking at him.

"What, why?" He suddenly looked disappointed.

"It's almost night-time already and we have school tomorrow so..." I trailed off, looking away.

"Then I'll send you back to the dorm."

"I-It's okay! I, uh, need to uh..." _Crud, I need an excuse!_ I looked around desperately and found my salvation – _Ven_. The boy was apparently alone and had his arms full of boxes. "I need to go help Ven out! Yeah, that's right!" I quickly made my way to the struggling boy.

I touched his back gently and he looked around. At the sight of me he cracked a wide grin. "Hey Aqua, you were at the fair too?"

_Aww, this boy is sooo cute! _"Hi Ven, need a hand?" I looked at the stack of boxes he piled up.

"Gee thanks! You're a lifesaver man!" He let out a sigh of relief as I took some of the boxes from him.

"I'll help out too." Terra suddenly said (He snuck up behind me?).

"Oh, it's okay Terra we're good." I quickly said as I saw Ven opened his mouth to say another 'Thanks!' "We, uh, need to bring this stuff to uh...the clubroom! Yeah, uh, at school! That's right, Axel told us there's a club meeting and he wants all this...stuff."

_Please buy that story, please buy it, please-_

"_Sigh* _If Axel's around then...I guess I can't help out. The guy might think I'm up to no good if I helped." Terra sighed.

_Oh sweet, sweet victory! _"Yeah, he might. Well...I guess this is goodbye then." Thank God at that, too.

Terra looked reluctant to leave and suddenly, I felt the same way too. I didn't want the boy to leave, I want him to stay..._stay by me..._

"See you tomorrow I guess." Terra grinned and turned around.

_He's walking away, he's walking away- _"Terra!" Wait, why did I just called him?

The boy turned around, looking at me hopefully.

"Um..." I hesitantly walked towards him and stood in front of him. "Thanks...for being my date today..." I tiptoed on my toes and kissed him lightly on his cheek.

I felt my own face burn with embarrassment but on the other hand..._That felt good_. I felt slightly happier as he was blushing too and I quickly turned around and walked towards Ven (The poor boy was practically gaping).

"No problem..." I heard Terra say behind me. I smiled to myself as I heard him whooping and dashing off towards wherever he's going.

"Let's go Ven." I giggled at the look the boy was giving me. We walked away quietly as the beautiful setting sun shone one last time upon the island.

_Whatever I'm feeling right now...I'm sure it'll be sorted out in due time._

* * *

Ya-haw! This, my fellow readers, is a new short chappy I've made just for kicks ^^ since there's a lot of characters in my fic I thought I'd start up one totally unrelated short stories known as '_Shorties Smarties'_ (though it IS related to this fic!) Enjoy ^^

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_Shorties Smarties #1- The Boy with the candy_

It was a peaceful day in the clubroom. The only ones in were Aqua, Roxas and Naminé. Aqua was doing her homework (and Axel's since he refused to do anything Mr. Saix gives out) while Naminé was doing her usual thing- drawing.

Roxas though, was breaking. He wasn't able to help Naminé out during her time of need (_*See Chappie VIII-IX) _and what's worse is that she seemed to be dating Riku.

Now here's what our hero (Roxas) is thinking – What can he do to impress Naminé? Of course, the only way to a girl's heart is to ask another girl about it. So being the only girl (other than the damsel that he wishes for) our lad went to ask for the aid of the sagely Aqua.

"Hey Aqua..." Roxas whispered as he sat next to her.

"Hmm, what is it Roxas?" Aqua asked distractedly (Doing two people's homework is quite a tedious task).

"Do you know...what I can do to impress Naminé?" He tried to suppress the desperation in his voice but Aqua caught on.

She dropped her pen and was deep in thought for a while before; "Candy." She snapped her fingers.

"Candy?" Roxas tilted his head slightly.

"Yup, cuz' you want to make amends with her first right? Go with candies. She loves those kinds." Aqua pointed towards a perfectly prepared box of candy in front of us. The brand was '_Twilight's Delight_', a popular candy in Twilight Town.

"Think she'll forgive me if I give her that?" Roxas asked hopefully.

"She'll love you for it." Aqua said earnestly.

"Alright then." Roxas said confidently and grabbed the box. He carefully approached Naminé and stood in front of her nervously.

"Yes...Roxas?" Naminé suddenly spoke up, completely indifferent towards him.

"H-Hey Nami...Uh, do you want some candy?" He blurted out. He held the candy out towards Naminé.

Naminé looked at it suspiciously at first before giving him a smile. "Oh thank you Roxas! These are my favourite kind!" She took one happily.

Suddenly, Naminé gagged and choked and immediately spit the candy out. Her eyes were teary and her nose was red.

"W-What's wrong?" Roxas looked at her, horrified.

She glared at him as she rubbed her throat painfully. "Pepper? You put _pepper _on the candy?" She choked.

"N-No! Naminé, I didn't know, the candy was on the-"

"I hate you Roxas!" She hissed and stormed out of the room, leaving the dumbfounded Roxas.

Now, in came Ven, happily whistling and looking cheerful. He went towards the table Aqua was sitting and looked around before giving a quizzical look.

"Hey Aqua..." he began.

"Yes Rox- Ven, I know you're Ven." She corrected herself absentmindedly without looking at him.

"Do you know where my box of spiked candy went?" He asked casually, happily at that.

"Box of what-?" Aqua suddenly looked alarmed, staring at him.

"Box of spiked candy. I put loads of pepper in it for the football team. Seen it?" Ven said specifically.

"Oh dear..." Aqua looked horrified (why wouldn't she?) and quickly looked at Roxas.

The boy had heard the whole thing. Yes he did. Roxas made a look so scary that even Aqua recoiled slightly, quickly shuffling away from the coming storm.

"Hey bro! What's up?" Ven, being oblivious, greeted his twin.

"You-idiot!" Was all that came from Roxas as he growled and lunged at his twin, choking him.

"_Gag* _Can't breathe! Aqua- _help_!" Ven asked desperately, flailing his arms.

However, the girl had already continued doing her homework and was busy muttering "If there is only twenty-six cars left, what is _x_?"

Thus ended the serene quietness of the outcasts' clubroom with Aqua finally finishing her homework (perfect equations at that) and Ven being choked to death by the heartbroken Roxas.

Just another normal day in the clubroom folks.


	12. CHAPTER XII: Monday Mayhem

Ya-haw! Been awhile dear readers! How are y'all? ;) I'm in a happy mood cuz' ta~ta~ta~ We've reached the 12th chappy! Yay! And anyways this chappy's quite a big one so prepare yourself muahaha!

Cheers to my reviewers - miano53, fujingodofwind (Your request has been granted oho!), Aquastorm XIV (I enjoy our usual messages ^^), an1995616, OrganizationsNumberXIII, Riku Uzumaki, BubbleMonkey97, aaaaannnnd XHollow18.

Do leave a review and tell me what you think later ^^ Now lo' and behold~ The 12th chappy! ya-haw!

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CHAPTER XII: Monday Mayhem

* * *

_Aqua_

* * *

"So Cloud asked you to go on another date?" I repeated her words. Our Cloud? Asking for a date?

"He did! I can't believe it either, I thought that I've gone deaf cuz' of the fireworks exploding but he asked me to come to his store after school!" Tifa said excitedly.

Three of us girls (Meaning me, Tifa & Naminé) walked together to school since duh, we lived together! Although we did raise a few eyebrows when we walked in (We don't usually attract this much attention, really).

Amongst the viewers was none other than Seifer, the big bully himself. Naminé shrunk a few inches and hid herself behind me. I, however, was already used to seeing him since he's been the one responsible for humiliating me every day_. But I won't let him touch Naminé though! Over my dead body Seifer!_

Oddly enough he wasn't holding a can of soda or any form of sticky liquid today. He looks sort of distressed, if I have to say so myself. I knew he was troubled the moment we passed by him and he didn't so much as throw an insult on how I look like today (I look the same everyday though). Seifer was with his goon and they don't look too happy, which makes me interested to hear their little conversation.

"...Just leave her be. She can hang out with whoever the hell she wants." I heard Seifer say to his usual posse, Rai.

"B-But Seifer, she's one of us! What'll happen to the Swimming Trio if we're left with just a duo man?" Rai obviously looked panicked.

"Look man I don't care so don't come to me with all this crap and- _what the hell are you looking at?_" Seifer glared at me. Oops, busted?

"You're standing in front of my locker." I said innocently, trying to act as if I just got there.

"Oh, sorry." Seifer moved out of the way.

I looked at him, appalled. "You _apologized? _Are you sick or something today Seifer?" If there's one thing Seifer doesn't do then that would be apologizing, much less to his victims.

"I got something on my mind so don't push it four-eyes." Seifer growled, banging my locker loudly and stalked off, Rai following his trail.

"That was weird." Tifa muttered.

"Yeah, maybe he drank too much chlorine from the swimming pool and his brain got frazzled." I shook my head as I opened my banged up locker. I took out a few textbooks and continued walking to Naminé's locker where we spotted Riku already waiting for her.

The blonde went red and waved a rushed goodbye as we smirked and wolf-whistled (We can act like boys too can't we?). Tifa's locker was close to the classroom so we just spent a couple of seconds and made it into class before the bell rings.

The classroom was chaotic as usual but this time the ruckus was caused by Axel. The redhead apparently had a few smaller fireworks left from yesterday's show and was blasting them off outside the windows (Hayner and Vaan were helping him out).

"Axel, stop that at once!" Tifa glared and made her way towards the boys.

"Good luck trying to stop them, they won't listen." A down casted Kairi mumbled over the noise. She was sitting in the teacher's seat looking dejected. "I'm the class representative and I can't even control these guys...I'm a failure _sob*_." She faked a sob.

"There, there." I patted her head gently.

Finally the rowdiness died down when Mr. Sazh came in with his BB gun (A new model?). Axel quickly threw away the rest of the fireworks outside the window and Tidus hid his blitzball inside his uniform.

"Nice to see you kids being so hyper this early in the morning." He smiled as he sat down (Kairi had shuffled away quietly).

Class went on without a hitch throughout the rest of the day (not counting one of Axel's fireworks which somehow had lighted up from inside his bag) and we had to do physical ed. with Mr. Barret. Ten gruelling rounds around the track before we were finally dismissed for the day.

After a much needed shower I made my way towards the clubroom together with Axel (Who was still sullen from being told off by Mr. Cid) where two of the three musketeers (a cute nickname for the three) were standing in front of the clubroom.

"What's going on? Why aren't you guys inside?" Axel raised his eyebrows.

Ven and Hope looked at us before motioning to look through the glass window.

"Rox is inside." Hope pointed towards Roxas, who was sitting behind a table.

"And?" Axel inquired, standing next to Hope.

"And there's a girl there too." Ven pointed in front of Roxas.

Axel looked even more confused. "So? That could be Aerith or Fang or Xion or-"

"Never seen her before and I gotta' tell ya', she's freaking me out." Ven shuddered.

"Really now! What's gotten into you three?" I pushed past the boys and entered the clubroom.

Roxas quickly shifted his gaze at me as I stared at him. _Save me! _That's what his eyes were screaming out.

I turned to look at the girl in front of him. The girl had silvery, short hair where her bangs covered her left eye and her eye colour was hazel and sort of reddish. She had a skinny feature but her body measurement is modest enough (I sound like a guy!) and she had crossed her arms while staring at Roxas fascinatingly. After I entered the room she switched to stare at me (Ven's right, she's kinda' creepy when she's looking at you like that). Nonetheless I mustered some courage to talk to her.

"H-Hello?" I started.

The girl remained silent, still staring at me.

"Um, my name's Aqua. What's yours?" I tried again, hoping she would respond.

The girl stared at me silently before; "Fuu." Was all she said.

_That must've been here name. _"Fuu." I repeated. "So how can we help you?" After getting her name I felt myself relaxing and took a seat next to Roxas.

I smiled at her and...Is it just me or did she just _blushed_? The other three made their way in but Fuu didn't even as much as blinked when the others settled themselves. Axel stood behind me and whispered in my ear;

"Didtcha' find out why she's here? To join the club maybe?"

Fuu shot a glare at Axel and the boy merely frowned at her. I know for a fact that Axel's soft around girls but its better if we don't push him _too _much.

"So Fuu, is there anything I can do for you? Or do you want to join our club." I quickly asked the girl.

Fuu quickly turned her attention to me and nodded her head.

"Aren't you a part of Seifer's gang?"

A voice spoke behind me. Fang had come in, looking mildly surprised at Fuu.

"Now that you mentioned it...I've seen her before during swimming practice with them..." Axel mumbled as he took out his black book (the book with the lucrative information on people).

Fuu didn't deny that fact and nodded her head as she pointed a finger to her face. "Swimming Trio."

"Ah here we go...Fuujin, Second Year, class E. She's the treasurer for the Swimming Club and also a part of the infamous _'Swimming Trio' _consisting of Seifer, Rai, and herself. They've been winning a lot of gold medals together and there's a rumour saying they're the best team to ever be formed in Destiny High. But apparently there's also a rumour going around that Seifer's doing dope to 'enhance' himself so..." Axel read from the book. "So you ditched your friends?" Axel looked pleased though.

Fuu shook her head and said; "Experience."

Everybody looked at her with clueless faces but I got what she meant. "She meant she wants to try and have a new experience with us, isn't that right Fuu?" I looked at the girl for confirmation.

Fuu nodded her head and again..._blushed _when I smiled at her.

"And why is it that you speak in short lingos?" Roxas asked. He yelped a little as Fuu snapped her head towards him (There was a 'crack' sound made by her neck).

"Useless..." Was all that she said.

"I give up." Axel held his hands up in a sign of defeat but again, I understood her.

"She's saying that it's useless to speak in full sentences and it's quite bothersome to finish her words." I explained to the others. Fuu nodded agreeably.

"How did you get all that?" Axel looked at me incredulously.

"It's almost the same as Yuffie's ninja code-words, this is a lot easier to decipher." I shrugged, remembering my cousin's cryptic messages when we were younger. _Something like 'The butterfly flew the coop' which actually meant she's sneaking out of the house for the night._

"Okay code-breaker, ask her what she wants. Somehow I got the feeling that experience ain't really what she's looking for, there's gotta' be something else." Axel said. The redhead had jumped onto the hammock (been awhile since we used it) and lazily yawned as he swings from left to right.

_Yeah I kinda' don't buy that story too- _"Fuu" I turned my attention to the girl again. "Can you tell me _specifically _why you're here? Is there anything troubling you or did you fight with your friends...?" I suddenly remembered Seifer and Rai from this morning. _Maybe this is why they looked agitated. Hey, they did mention something about being left a duo from the Swimming Trio! _

"Confused." Fuu suddenly said, pointing to herself.

"Translation?" Axel lazily waved his hand in the air.

"You're confused about something?" I interpreted and got a nod of agreement from said confused girl, who was still pointing at herself. "...You're confused about yourself?" This time I got an energetic respond from Fuu (she nodded quite energetically).

"Myself." Fuu said quietly.

"You're insecure about yourself?" I said excitedly. Suddenly the conversation was only between Fuu and I, whereas Axel had lost interest and began scribbling something in his black book, Roxas had slipped away from the table and joined Ven, Hope and Fang in a round of poker (NOT to be played if you're in school guys!).

Fuu shifted uncomfortably in her seat and kept giving me odd looks. _She's shy about something – need to make her fess up!_

"Fuu, you can tell me anything you want." I urged the girl. "It's okay, whatever problem you have we're here to help you out, _whichever side you might be on_." I added after I heard an audible snort coming from above me.

Fuu looked at me unsurely before; "I..."

"Yes?" I drew closer, waiting for her next word.

"I-I..." Fuu struggled with her words (Apparently she's no good with full sentences).

"C'mon, you can do it girl!" I encouraged her.

"I-I _love you!_" Fuu sputtered, practically red from embarrassment.

"..."

A moment of silence followed the shocking revelation with every pairs of eyes locked onto the silver-haired girl.

"_Wahahahahaha!_" Axel's laughter broke the silence as he fell and still managed to laugh while rolling on the ground.

"Oh dear." I said, touching my own cheek with concern.

* * *

After much interrogation (and laughter by one red porcupine), we were able to decipher _completely _what Fuu had really meant.

"Oh I get it now, you're saying you _admire _me, like a fan." I said carefully.

Fuu nodded her head, her face still had tint of red fresh from the past minute. "Concert." She said.

Everyone got what she said this time.

"Oh, you mean you saw her perform during the 'Battle of the Bands' and you became her fan from there?" Axel had a smug look on his face, no doubt he's gonna' rub it in after this.

Fuu nodded again and this time she even took my hands. "Impressed." She was smiling, looking at me with adoration (at least, I think so).

"Now that's something." Axel whistled, looking 'impressed' himself. "Never seen Fuu smiled before, records said she has the facial expression of a zombie. Gotta' write this down..." and he went mumbling on by himself as he scribbled in his book.

"Y-You're saying you were impressed with my performance?" I had to repeat the statement though (Was it a statement? More like a riddle!).

"Yes." Fuu said.

"B-But how did you know how I looked like? I-I mean-" I glanced at Axel unsurely. "I _am _wearing my hat and glasses aren't I?"

Axel nodded his head in respond and continued scribbling, paying no attention to the important matter at hand here!

"Followed you." Fuu suddenly say.

"W-What do you mean you followed me? Since when- Don't tell me you waited till the concert ended and followed me home after I left school?" I made a shocked face as the girl nodded.

Now it makes sense. The girl had followed me to the dorm that night! She must've put two and two together but there's something off here...

"Why now?" I asked. "The concert was ages ago so why did you decide to come to me now?" It didn't make sense why she'd wait more than a month to talk me (Hey, who am I right? But still...).

"Seifer." Fuu said.

"Seifer? He has something to do with this?" What'd that beanie boy want with me now?

"Dangerous." She said quietly.

"Oh, you're saying it was dangerous for you to come see me because Seifer's always butting in my life?" Not exactly hard to remember the sticky cola he always reserved specifically for me.

Fuu nodded her head.

"But still...I don't get it. Just last week Seifer dumped those slushies on me so what's bugging him so much that he won't notice you coming here?" I frowned. Although I hate to admite it, Seifer's one sharp guy when it comes to detecting something was going amiss. Apart from his usual swimming club, he's also a member of the Enforcers, making his power level with the other club Captains.

"_Seymour_." Fuu hissed his name.

"Seymour?" I think I've heard that name before, wasn't he-

"Swimming Club Captain, and the holder of the _Gray Shark _badge. He's the one who kicked Demyx out of the band remember?" Axel explained.

"Yeah I remember! He's the guy who's got a thing for Yuna right?" Yeah it made sense to me, that guy's bad news.

"Yup and still do from the looks of it. He just asked her to the Spring Dance this morning." Axel said as his eyes were still on his book.

"Spring Dance?" My interest was aroused_. __Nobody told me about a dance before!_

"It's held the same week the Music Festival is, and BTW it's mandatory. Auron's keeping tabs on us to come and mingle with the rest of the school." Axel frowned at his own words. Seems like even he's not excited about it.

"Ugh I hate dancing...I suck at it..." I twiddled my fingers together.

"Naw you're a decent dancer, remember the concert?" Axel smirked.

"I was moving from one place to the other, that's not considered dancing Axel." I said irritably.

"You gotta' find a date BTW." Axel said.

"Duh~ I know that much Axel." I sighed, whoever my date is would be sorry indeed when I stepped on his foot...say... "Axel~ sweetie~" I called his name in a sing-song voice.

"Sorry Aqua, you gotta' find somebody else." Axel rejected me...quickly at that.

"W-Why? Aren't we a team? We're like Batman & Robin! The Green Hornet & Kato! Hensel & Gretel-"

"More like Bonnie & Clyde." Axel snorted. "Sorry hun', as much as I'd love to choose you over the thousands of my other fans..." (I snorted at this) "...I'm afraid I'm already taken." He finished.

Another moment of silence past. It took some time for the words to sink in as I stared at the redhead in horror.

"You've-already-gotten-a-DATE?" I mouthed, horrified.

"W-What? I can get a date too, no problem." Axel ruffled his hair nervously.

"B-But what about me? After all we've been through, you're just gonna' dump me over some other girl? _Sob*_ I can't believe you Axel." I pretended to cry.

"Sorry babe, but we're through." Axel smirked, catching on to my joke.

"_Sigh*_ Are you guys playing couple again?"

It was Kairi. The redhead rolled her eyes as she entered the room together with Yuna, Garnet and Naminé.

"_Giggle*_ They're always like th_- Roxas why are you naked_?" Naminé suddenly shrieked.

All of our attention turned to the poker gang. Fang was laughing her head off as the three musketeers were apparently...naked. Or something along that line, they were in their boxers.

"No Nami! Shield your eyes!" Garnet said in horror as she covered the poor girl's eyes.

"W-Wha, d-don't look!" Hope said in embarrassment, covering his body.

The other two merely looked disheartened as they sat down, their heads hung low.

"Fang..." I shook my head, looking at the laughing girl.

"What~? I was bored." She said, clutching her stomach.

Kairi had gone to scold the three boys while Yuna chuckled lightly as she high-fived Fang. Garnet was still covering Naminé's eyes as the girl tried to find her way to the sofa helplessly.

Fuu who had apparently stayed quiet all this time had stood up and went to my side.

"...Join...?" She was asking a question.

"What'd she say?" Axel raised his eyebrow, losing interest on the three musketeers.

However, I smiled and nodded at the girl. "Of course you can. You can come in anytime you want Fuu."

The girl smiled again (I can see that she's not used to it) and turned towards the door.

"Thank you." Fuu bowed, before going outside of the room.

I waved goodbye at the girl. So we've got a new member here! Yay! Well...sort of? Technically she's still in the swimming club but who cares!

"Wonder what made Fuu changed sides?" Fang had pulled up a chair next to me, running through the pictures she took.

"Does it matter? We have a new member in our club!" I smiled good-heartedly.

"Oh it sooo matters sister." Fang said, suddenly serious. "You don't just up and leave the jocks' side so easily, not without a couple of scraps or bruises, worst case scenario is a week or two in the hospital."

Suddenly I felt my heart sank as the smile on my face fell. "Is Fuu gonna' be okay?" What the heck, is there another jock tradition I missed here?

"I can't say for sure...It's up to her Captain o'course if he wants to ostracize her officially then she has to go through the 'Loser's Circle' and trust me; it ain't pretty." Fang shuddered, as if remembering something bad.

"Loser's Circle?" I repeated. Now what the heck is that?

"Remember when Light saved Hope some time ago from Larxene?" Fang made circular motions with her finger in front of my eyes.

"Yeah I remembered that, there were a bunch of jocks and- oh dear." Fang gave me a painful smile as I caught on.

"_Haa*_ It ain't pretty." Fang repeated her own words as she yawned.

This is bad, _mucho o bad-o!_ "Axel!" I turned towards the redhead.

"Don't worry your pretty little head, I'm already on it." Axel shrugged, tapping furiously on his cell phone. "Covert operations are what Light does best, so I'm leaving it to her to keep tabs on Fuujin. No way am I letting a fresh meat go without a fight..." Axel mumbled on (He did sound all military-like just now!).

"It's been quite awhile since I saw Lightning..." I mumbled, feeling a little bit assured now that I know she's on the case.

"She's been going to regular medical-checkups ever since the 'Vanitas' incident. Heard Snow hurt her real bad." Axel answered, still tapping on his cell phone.

"Snow did what now?" Snow? The guy I met yesterday at the Fair?

"He has a tendency to go out of control if he's being pushed. He's the Quarterback for the Destiny Heartless (Our school football team) and believe you me that dude does not need any Linemen to protect him. Now that I think about it there's a football game later..." Somehow I think Axel's been mumbling on just to keep a conversation with me (I'm not even sure if he's listening!).

_"There's a football game today?" _Naminé suddenly piped up, an excited look on her face.

"Yup, in about..." Axel checked his wristwatch "...thirty minutes. They're going against _Spira's Sin, _quite a good team too but the one you guys should check out is their head cheerleader, she's been scouted for..._bla bla bla_..." Axel went on.

"Can we go, can we go?" Naminé grabbed my hand as she pleaded excitedly.

"_Aww* _What's gotten into my lil' angel today?" I pinched her cheeks adoringly.

"_Cahn wse go_?" Naminé shook my hand energetically.

"Huh? Why'd you wanna' go watch a bunch of guys fighting over a ba- _Unless_..." I raised my eyebrows, surprised.

Suddenly, the blonde squirmed a bit, as if she was caught doing something bad.

"_Aww* _my little girl's all grown up and getting excited watching men sweating and fighting and hugging each other-" I squished her face together (_She's so cute!_).

"T-That's not it!" Naminé flailed her arms exasperatedly, escaping my grip (_aww..._).

"_Giggle* _I'm just playing around with you for a lil' bit sweetie, I know you wanna' watch Riku play right?" I ruffled her hair.

The girl blushed furiously but she didn't deny that statement. Instead she nodded her head and lie down on my lap.

"So...can we?" She asked again.

"Of course we can, but we'll have to be quick cuz' I still got my part-time job at the cafe." I was rewarded with a cheerful 'okay!' as she nuzzled her face on my lap.

A loud 'bang' sound was heard from the back and I turned my head to see Roxas stalking off outside the clubroom, Ven following him faithfully.

_ "Oh dear..." I guess I shouldn't have mentioned Riku..._

_"What's his problem?" _Naminé sniffed, giving a disapproving look.

"Oh sweetie..." I ruffled her hair again, _now how should I go about telling her this? _"Nami...You don't really hate Roxas now do you?"

That question caught her off-guard. Again, the girl turned pink and looked away. "I...I don't like him..."

"Are you sure? Cuz' I'm pretty sure he likes you and that he's not as bad as people say he is." I smiled as the girl looked shocked.

"He...Well...I-I'm not really sure. R-Roxas was the reason I got bullied in the first place a-and I'm dating Riku now so...so..." The girl made a confused look, as if she's not sure of what's she herself is saying. "I just don't know..." Naminé finally mumbled, looking away dejectedly.

"You'll get it soon honey." I encouraged her. The girl might look mature but she's really naive and innocent on the most part. _Poor Roxas, I guess he has to be patient if he wants to woo Nami... _"So let's go watch a football game now shall we?"

* * *

"_Come on we can do it! We'll fight, fight, fight till' the last drop to win! Who are we? We're the Spira's Sin!_"

Cheerleaders of the visiting team cheered as the home crowd booed (although a large amount of the males still had their eyes on their head cheerleader). The girl has a bushy, wild blonde hair and the _skimpiest _outfit I've ever seen (this coming from the girl who's seen Fang's bikini). She was highly energetic and their team looked even more motivated.

"_C'mon, c'mon Spira's Sin! GOO GENESIS!_" She shrieked when their Quarterback apparently intercepted a pass and went to score a touchdown.

"YAAAYYY! GO GENY GO!" She cheered as the score was now 21 to 27 (We're 21).

"Crap, timeout." Snow signalled the referee for a timeout. The team grouped together for the huddle.

"We're one touchdown short and there's only three minutes left before the game is up." Riku frowned.

"Don't worry guys we can still make it. Don't want the folks coming down today to be disappointed now do we?" Snow grinned.

"What'd you have in mind boss?" Riku grinned back.

_Meanwhile on the stands_

"You can do it Snow!" Serah cheered, practically jumping up and down from her seat.

"Stop acting so juvenile and sit down." Lightning frowned, pulling her little sister to sit.

"B-But Snow needs my support!" Serah protested.

"He'll do fine with-"

"SERAH!" Snow's loud voice boomed, the giant man waving ecstatically at her girlfriend.

"Never mind..." Lightning grumbled darkly and relented as Serah yelled his name and waved back.

"Cheer up Lightning, we _are _at a football game. You should do what Serah does!" I patted her back.

"No thanks, I'll be fine just minding my own business and-"

"LIGHTNING!" Another loud voice boomed, a boy with spiky black hair waved at her.

"_Oooh _someone has a fan~" I smiled wickedly as I nudged her in the ribs.

Lightning had grown a bright shade of pink as she started twirling her hair. "Noctis...that idiot..." She mumbled quietly.

"Is he your boyfriend~?" Yuffie suddenly jumped in, her hands all over Lightning.

"W-What? No! _And keep your hands to yourself!_" Lightning hissed, pushing Yuffie away.

"_Nooo_, cuzzie' Light's being mean to me~" Yuffie pretended to cry as she hugged me.

"_Aww_, there there..._Watch the hands!_"

"They've started." Naminé suddenly tensed up, gripping the railing of the stands tightly.

"On three, break!" Riku clapped his hands loudly as they broke out of the huddle.

"Think they've got a plan?" Xion, who was sitting next to a disinterested Axel, asked anxiously.

"Riku's got one you can count on that, though Snow's not much of a thinker..." Axel snorted, crossing his arms.

"_Come on guys, you can do it! Do us proud Heartless!" _Our head cheerleader, Rinoa, cheered. A few wolf whistles were heard as she shakes her pom-pom up in the air.

"Rinoa's really into her part, isn't she?" I giggled as the girl noticed and waved at me.

"Not a lot of second years can get that high of a vote from the school populace. Rinoa was the first head cheerleader to ever get the vote of 98%." Axel said matter-of-factly.

"Bet she has a lot of enemies." Sora whistled.

"Ultimecia and Jihl's got it in them to hurt her." Paine said boringly.

"That witch again? What's she up to now?" Fang asked annoyingly while eating her popcorn.

"Never mind that for now, the game's starting again." Kairi waved her hand for our attention.

"Poor Garnet though, she has to substitute for Zidane again since he's off chasing the visiting team's girls." Yuna sighed, watching her friend playing emcee in front of them.

Before you guys get confused, the ones in the stand with me now are – Naminé, Lightning, Yuffie, Serah, Axel, Xion, Fang, Aerith, Kairi, Sora, Paine and Yuna. Garnet was in the commentators' seat and looking really pissed off indeed.

"_So now we have our home team starting the ball as the visiting team kicks off. Oh and there's the ball! Looks like Zell managed to catch it and he's now running- Zidane don't think I didn't saw that!" _Garnet hissed as she stood up and pointed at her boyfriend.

From the other side Zidane held his hands up and yelled back; "_I didn't do anything!_"

"_Yeah right! Like yesterday when you were twenty minutes late for our date at the fair and you said you were helping your sister with her homework when clearly you were seeing another girl!"_ Garnet huffed through the microphone.

"_Wha- How'd you find out?_" Zidane yelled back, the monkey boy looked quite amazed.

"_You had a hickey on your neck you moronic monkey! Why I oughta'_-"

"E-hem, Ms. Alexandros?" Mr. Auron had spoken through his microphone (He's the other commentator), he looked quite pissed himself. "I think you should keep your relationship trouble _private _now shouldn't you? Or if you're still angry about it you can go to Ms. Gainsborough for counselling." He spoke quietly, earning a chorus of laughter from the Home crowd.

"I'm the students' counsellor by the way guys so if you have any problems-" Aerith started, looking at us happily.

"We'll know who to go to for gossips." I finished for her as we high-fived.

"Girls..." Sora mumbled to himself as we giggled.

"_I-Yes sir. We'll talk later._" She hissed at Zidane before sitting down. _"Now, back to the game...Oh it looks like our team managed to reach the Sin's danger zone! They're a few yards away from a touchdown!_"

"What? So soon?" Lightning said in disbelief as she turned her attention to the field.

"They've really pushed their way through!" Naminé said excitedly (now _she's _jumping up and down).

"No surprise with Gadot as their Lineman. The dude's a close friend of Snow's." Axel explained to us.

"Oh." Was all we said as we turned back to the game.

"_The clock is ticking as the Heartless makes one final attempt to score a touchdown here folks. Would it be a run or a pass as our Quarterback Snow makes his decision and- it's a pass! A short pass to Riku!_" Garnet had stood up again in her excitement.

"GO RIKU!" Both Naminé and Xion had stood up, yelling in unison (Wait, why'd Xion stand up?).

"_He jumps that tackle and ooh, made a spin move to avoid that Lineman, and he's going, going...HE SCORED A TOUCHDOWN!_" Garnet cheered loudly over the loud roars of the crowd.

"We won! We won!" Naminé and Xion squealed as they hugged and jumped up and down.

"What's gotten into them?" Yuna asked but she too was clapping her hands.

"Beats me, can we go now?" Axel yawned, as he clapped half-heartedly.

Riku had taken off his helmet and his eyes scanned the stands for a certain someone. He caught the eyes of that said person (Guess who? A little, blonde girl) and waved confidently.

"_That's a wrap for today folks, looks like it's all down to the kick and with our very own Kicker Mr. Yuj it's all- WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?_" Garnet suddenly screamed.

All of us gasped too at what had just happened. Riku was still cheering and waving when suddenly one of the guys from the opposing team tackled him hard on the sides. He was tackled to the ground and a loud 'crunch' was heard as Riku groaned in pain.

"RIKU!" Both Naminé and Xion screamed. Even Axel had stood up, his eyes wide open.

"_THAT WAS LOW YOU FILTHY, LYING, CHEATING BAS-_"

"I think that should do Ms. Alexandros." Mr. Auron took the mic away from her. "Can the medical team quickly make their way to- NO SNOW DON'T YOU DO IT!"

It happened in split-second. As soon as Garnet had been taken of the air Snow had let out a powerful roar and charged at the assailant. Pretty soon the whole team had gotten involved and even the mascots were dragged into the fight. Chaos ensued as even the crowds had roared with displeasure and had jumped into the field to fight.

"What the hell's gotten into everyone?" Sora shouted as he held onto Kairi's hand.

"I-I don't know, Sora don't let go of me!" Kairi whimpered as Sora hugged her, shielding her from the rampage.

"_Everyone don't lose sight of each other!_" Axel yelled, counting our heads. Suddenly out of nowhere a bottle flew in the air and hit him square on the face. Axel crumpled to the floor as all of us screamed his name.

"AXEL!" I screamed, making my way to the boy.

"_Groan*_" Axel groaned as I held him in my hands, he was bleeding all over me. "HELP! I need some help over here! _Please_!" I pleaded but no one seemed to have heard.

"We need to go." A hand gripped my shoulder and I turned to see Cloud (Where was he the whole time?). He loses no time to carry Axel over his shoulder as he yelled to the rest of us to follow him.

"Aerith stay right behind me!" He shouted hoarsely, as his free hand took hers.

We held each others' hand so that we wouldn't lose anyone but Naminé wouldn't budge.

"B-But Riku's still there!" She protested.

"Nami we have to go! This place is dangerous, leave him to Snow!" I told her.

"N-No!" She said and suddenly let go of my hand. Before I could even shout her name she had jumped off the stands and ran into the field.

"IS SHE CRAZY?" I yelled to no one in particular as I chased after her, jumping into the chaotic area as well.

I pushed by the spectators, some dudes in football uniform, and an ice-cream man (how the heck did he got into this mess?) as I followed that little, flash of bright yellow through the whole mess. She finally stopped next to the crumpled figure of Riku who was lying on the ground, still moaning in pain.

"Riku...Riku..." Naminé whimpered his name, nudging him several times as tears began to form on the girl's face.

The silver-haired boy groaned again before slowly opening his eyes. At the sight of Naminé, he puts up his best smile and; "What's up Nami?" However his voice was so low that it alarmed us.

"We'd better get you to a doc quick. Nami you take his left side..." I said urgently as I instructed Naminé to take his left side and I supported his right. "And we'll talk _later_." I frowned at the girl. _She might have done it because she loves him but that is not an excuse to go running into a field full of ravaging people that could trample all over her...well, I might have done the same if it was Zack..._

I sighed at my own thought as we lifted him up as carefully as we could.

"Don't mind me, you guys get out." Riku mumbled, completely lost control of his body as he leaned on me.

"You're delirious Riku if you think Nami's gonna' leave you behind." I gritted my teeth as I tried my best to support him (Curse the male body's heavy mass).

"Hey Aqua...I scored a touchdown just now...didtcha' see that...? I went flying like _woo~_" Riku sounded _completely _delirious, he was spouting nonsense after that (Something about rainbows and ponies).

Somehow amidst the rampaging crowd I managed to spot a certain long-haired brunette punching and kicking people away from her. "TIFA!" I waved my hands and tried calling for her but she couldn't hear me. Next thing I know someone hit her on the back with a baseball bat. I could see the girl crying out in pain and fell to the ground.

"_No_..." I let go of the silver-haired boy and ran towards the brunette. Standing above her was her assailant, ready to strike the finishing blow. I managed to make it on time as I yelled out incoherently and tackled the man with all my might. I heard a loud crash as the man was pushed into another fight and I fell to the ground next to Tifa.

I pulled myself back together as I quickly turn Tifa around and checked her body for any signs of injuries. I let out a sigh of relief as I couldn't find any wound other than the nasty bruise the bat had struck on her back.

"Aqua..."

I turned around to see Naminé limping towards me (she was still holding onto Riku). The blonde made a frightened look at the sight of Tifa but I made a gesture to let her know she was okay (Sort of a thumb up sign maybe?).

Deciding that I couldn't leave her in her current state, I gently lifted her up and dragged her away from that place. "This is crazy..." I mumbled to myself. Just one tackle, _one LOUSY underhanded move_, and the whole football field turned into mayhem. Something's fishy here...

* * *

"What-were-you-_thinking_? You two could've been killed!" Aerith hissed at the both of us as she gazed from above imperiously.

"We're sorry." We said in unison.

Both Naminé and I were kneeling and had our faces down as Aerith lectured us sternly about safety (and something about not jumping into a bunch of wild, rampaging riot).

"You two really gave me a heart attack! If Cloud hadn't found you in the middle of that field I-"

"-Then he wouldn't have found Tifa. Seriously Aerith, she was hit pretty hard." I argued. The thought of Tifa getting hit by the bat and the guy actually planning to deal the final blow made me shudder. Even if it's a rivalry fight, why go to all that length for murder?

Aerith pursed her lips but she was still frowning at us (It made us shrink, seriously). "Well...I guess you guys did manage to save Riku and Tifa..." The way she said it had practically sounded as if she's forgiven us. I looked at Nami and the both of us looked back at Aerith, giving her the best sad, lost puppy look we can as she groaned and looked away.

"Fine, fine...but don't think you can avoid my lecture!" Aerith said cheekily as the both of us groaned.

All of us had managed to escape with minimal bruises (with the exception of you-know-who) and had lodged ourselves temporarily in the infirmary. It was lucky that Mr. Auron, Mr. Cid and Mr. Barret were there to finally calm the crowd down.

Tifa and Riku were both still asleep but Axel was already up and about, checking on everybody from the club (even the newly recruited Fuu). The boy had been advised by the school nurse to stay in bed but the redhead was adamant about ensuring the safety of his club members first. The riot had somehow mercifully avoided involving the main school building with all the students who were busy conducting their club activities.

"That was hell, that's for sure..." Sora mumbled while looking at his girlfriend. Kairi was busy applying some sort of medicine on his wounded arm. The redhead wasn't unscathed herself but she made sure to treat her boyfriend first.

"Hundreds of rampaging kids killing each other...sounds like the end of the world to me." Lightning sighed and shook her head as she sat down in a nearby chair.

"And it wasn't a coincidence."

Everybody tensed up as all of us looked at Axel. The redhead had shut his phone and eyed the infirmary door seriously. Seconds later Xigbar stalked in, shutting the door and a faint 'click' was heard when he locked the door and quickly moved towards the window to shut the curtains.

"Made sure I wasn't followed." The one-eyed man grunted, putting his crossbow down on an empty bed. "It's the apocalypse out there, do you know how many ambulance came? The local media's gonna' have a field day and old man Ansem's gonna' have one hell of a time answering to angry parents about this riot." Xigbar said as he checked the infirmary, from the bed to the cabinets, for something.

"No bugs..." He grunted again. "And I don't like any eavesdropper or curious eyes either." He gestured towards the door and the curtains. Finally satisfied, the man sat down on the empty bed and stared intently at Axel.

"Alright, spill it. Whatcha' mean that this was no coincidence?" Axel stared back at him. Now it was obvious who Axel was texting.

Xigbar shrugged and looked around again, observing each and every one of us until his eyes fell on the still unconscious Riku. "The kid was a sacrificial lamb." Xigbar pointed at Riku.

"What'd you mean?" Axel frowned, crossing his arms.

"I meant it exactly like I said it is. That was no accident, the kid was meant to get hit." Xigbar said smoothly, relaxing himself.

"You're saying someone planned it all? Even the part where Snow tackled the guy? Sounds kinda' farfetched to me..." Axel muttered, shaking his head.

"What if that someone knew how much the school, and the townspeople, loved that silver-haired brat? What if that someone also knew about Snow's predisposition to attack first and think later? _What if _that someone staged the whole riot to gain something?" Xigbar was insinuating somebody, but I hadn't a clue about who he's implying too.

I looked back at Axel and the redhead's eyes had grown wide, as if he knew who Xigbar had mentioned.

"It couldn't be him..." Axel mumbled back, flipping his black book open.

"You know anybody else that's this crazy?" Xigbar grunted.

"I'd say Vanitas but...Damn, he couldn't have done all of this just for _Munny _now did he?" Axel muttered angrily as he read on something furiously.

"Not just that, he's up to something else, that's for sure."

"Um, just who are you guys talking about?" I finally voiced out. It was irritating to be left out of an important conversation like this and even more so when I'm just standing right here in front of them!

"_Xemnas._" The two spoke in unison.

"Head of the athletics department? The evil dude who swiped the whole budget of the cultural clubs?" That slimy guy? (Who I apparently haven't met yet, thankfully).

"The very same, lass." Xigbar nodded.

"Now I have something important to talk to Xig here, we'll be elsewhere. _You guys _make sure to go straight back home." Axel looked at Xigbar and the man nodded. The one-eyed man stood up and unlocked the door, Axel following suit.

"Wait, you can't just leave us like this!" I stalked towards the redhead and grabbed his arm. "You owe us an explanation! Riku and Tifa nearly died because of this, after you told us there's a conspiracy and you're gonna' leave it hanging like this?" I glared straight into the boy's eyes.

He didn't waver or look away as he merely stared back. "I'm doing this for your sake, don't get involved." Axel pulled his arm away from my grip and left, just like that.

A few minutes of silence past as all of us looked at each other nervously.

"I can't believe this...Xemnas planned the whole thing? For what? Gunning down his best Receiver? That's just preposterous!" I looked at them for agreement but none came. All of them looked were staring at the floor, absorbed in their own thoughts.

"Aqua...You don't know Xemnas, you don't know what he's capable of." Cloud said quietly. The blonde had latched himself next to Tifa and hasn't moved at all. Worried? Definitely, but there was more to that as he had practically carried her from the point he found us and had given her the best urgent medical treatment a SOLDIER could give.

"What can one school teacher do?" I snorted, but the others winced at my snub.

"He's a nasty piece of work, trust me and he's no ordinary school teacher either. He's...different. That's for sure." Fang sounded serious, which was rare for her.

"I'm not following you guys here. What's so scary about him?" I absolutely hate to be left out of something.

"Look...If Axel said to butt out then maybe we should...Think we might have gotten over our head with this Outcast business as well..." Cloud muttered.

"I can't believe you just said that..." I stared at the blonde, hurt.

"I didn't mean it like how it sounded." Cloud said hastily. "It's just...we might have overlooked or underestimated the fact that Xemnas hates our guts."

The atmosphere was really heavy as no one said a word after that. Cloud had shifted uncomfortably while Naminé and Xion were looking over Riku anxiously. Lightning was merely frowning, deep in thought as Serah looked outside worriedly. Kairi had finished bandaging Sora and the latter was feeling sullen as well. Aerith though, was something else.

"Okay that's enough you guys!" She clapped her hands.

This earned the entire room's attention. In contrast to the mood, Aerith was showing her dazzling smile and moved to the center of the room.

"Look- there's no reason for us to be brooding over this. I know that what happened just now was really awful, but I want you all to think- think how lucky we were that all of us are safe. That we managed to save two lives and that we're here living, breathing, and _talking_. So I don't want any more sourpuss looks and let's turn those frown upside down!"

To give further description, she went to Cloud and pulled his cheeks so that it resembled him giving a constricted, painful smile (Actually, it doesn't look like he's smiling at all!).

At that, the whole room broke into a chorus of laughter and fits of giggles as Cloud massaged his red cheeks and mumbled something embarrassedly. The mood had lighten considerably as Aerith gave us that smile again.

"I'm happy to see you guys happy." She winked at me. Aerith probably knew I was the unhappiest of them all.

I giggled and nodded. "You really are something else, Aerith."

"I know, aren't you lucky to have me?" The girl came and gave me a hug. I appreciated it and embraced her back, feeling the warmth of her body giving me the strength I needed.

I guess she's right...Maybe Axel has a plan too and that he just didn't want to see us get hurt with whatever he's planning. Still...It made me worry that he's doing it in secrecy. What if something happened to him and there was no one to help him out? XIgbar has a tendency to disappear when things start to heat up so...No, I should believe in Axel.

"I have to go now, I've got work but..." I looked over to Naminé anxiously. I don't want to leave her and Tifa alone...

"Rest assured I'll get them both back to the dorm when Tifa wakes up and ready to walk. Cloud will be there too." Aerith said confidently, thumping her chest.

"Thanks." I looked at her with gratitude. I went over to Naminé's side and told her I had to leave. The blonde girl nodded and tried her best to smile as I gave her a hug. I bade Xion goodbye and then to the others as I left.

Although I left the room with a smile on my face, I can't help but feel that the rest of my schooling days would change after today. For better or for worse I don't know but my gut was leaning to the 'worse' side. I hope my gut was wrong. Seriously.

* * *

_The next day_

The episode which would forever be known as 'Monday Mayhem' by the student body was the latest gossip in school today. Talks of deaths and dismemberment flew around and that made me uncomfortable; did someone really die from that riot? Surely not, it would've been on the newspaper today...

Riku was warded into the hospital last evening and it seemed that he hurt his back really badly. Naminé was in tears the whole evening, Tifa (Thank Kingdom Hearts' she was okay) and I spent the night consoling the girl. Last I heard Xion had spent _her _night in Riku's wardroom. I smell something here but I'm not sure if my suspicions are correct, or if I'm just looking into it too hard.

Another rumour that flew about was that supposedly Lightning had saved the opposing team's cheerleader from being attacked. This earned some hatred from the population but on the most part they had been quite impressed with her timely action. That was also what had apparently killed some of the anger during the riot but what really stopped it was Mr. Auron.

He had been the most impressive and by far, the scariest. Mr. Auron had somehow snapped one of the football field's large lighting posts and it had dropped down in between the two rival crowds. Miraculously no one was hit but the impact of it had caused the two to separate. Just as they tried to get back to rip each others' throat out, Mr. Auron had boomed over the mic;

"_If any of you dare to so much as touch, I'll kill you all myself."_

His threat wasn't a big deal, his face was. He let out a really frightening killing aura (Which I thought only existed in movies!) that made everyone shudder. The crowd was quick to desist as the other teachers began filing in, shooing them again. I know all this because I was there (Mr. Auron rocked!).

As I passed the other students all of them were looking at me. Some curious, others amazed. Oh, just so you know today I'm not wearing my disguises. There are a few reason why I'm showing my face today and it has everything to do with today's assembly...

* * *

"Students, as we all know yesterday had been a very unfortunate accident. We all hope it wouldn't happen again as..."

One of our teachers, Ms. Quistis, spoke in front of the whole school. It was rare for us to hold an assembly but we all knew the reason for it. I tensed myself as my classmates shielded me from prying eyes (Tidus was the fiercest). Any moment now the announcement is gonna' come...

"...And it is with my...respect...to welcome our new _temporary _principal, Mr. Xemnas..." Ms. Quistis was far from excited about the announcement she made as she clapped half-heartedly. The whole school seemed to have been shocked as the jocks cheered and clapped their hands loudly (Kuja and Seymour in particular).

_Finally...Finally I get to see how the jerk looks like! _I scowled as a silver-haired man stepped onto the podium. His eyes were slit-like and golden, his hair silver, long and spiky. The man's feature was smooth and his unnatural calmness made me feel a little bit unnerved. Xemnas smiled wickedly (I know it's a wicked smile!) and waved lazily back through the cheers.

"...Students, it is with great pleasure that I take this position and I would like to give me..._condolences _to Ansem for being suspended. Although it was the lack of security and his carelessness that had led to the unfortunate accident of our Riku." Xemnas spoke in a mocking tone.

This earned quite a roar from the students as they were outraged that their beloved principal was being looked down upon. Amazingly the students did not back down from the glares they received from the jocks.

Xemnas was unaffected by the booing as he continued; "Onto more pressing matters, we have also suspended Mr. Auron for breaking the lighting post in the football field and also stripped Snow Villiers off his captainship of the football team for such indecent behaviour."

This was like putting oil into the fire. Even I had started shouting and screaming curses at him. I could see Mr. Cid and Mr. Sazh shaking their heads behind Xemnas' back.

"And-" He continued. "-We have also started a new policy of athletics decree. It's a simple policy really. Those who are in the athletics department would be given first-class services in the cafeteria and other special privileges. They are exempted from classes whenever there is a training conducted and- No _actions _shall be taken against them if there are no hard evidences presented to me when something happened...something like, _bullying_, for example."

Xemnas' smirk grew bigger as all of us fell silent. My mouth hung open as what he just said registered to my brain. The jocks were sniggering and I saw Seymour eyed Yuna hungrily. This prompted Tidus to shield his girlfriend, cracking his knuckles and glaring at him back viciously.

"_This is nuts! We'll all be easy meat for the jocks!"_

"_He can't do this...He just can't..."_

"_Great, looks like I'll have to get acquainted with Mr. Locker back..."_

"_I don't think I'll be going to school starting tomorrow..."_

"HOLD ON ONE PICKIN' MINUTE!" I voiced out, angry.

All heads turned to me as the assembly hall fell silent. My classmates quickly circled me, as if protecting me but I shook my head and they dispersed. I glared at the new principal determinedly as he fixed his sights on mine.

"...And who might you be young lady?" He asked over the microphone.

"I'm Aqua, a second year." I said. I slowly walked towards the front of my class line and in front of everyone.

"And why, might I ask, were you shouting?" He asked lazily.

"I'm shouting because it is unfair, _sir_." I added the last part grudgingly. "And that what you're doing will cause further turmoil in this school." I was still glaring at him.

"Oh...do elaborate." He was humouring me.

"You're encouraging bullying to happen in this school sir and that you also happen to know that majority of the student body are not jocks. In spite of everything else you're also explicitly showing favouritism towards the athletic department- _your own department_, I might add." I said it loudly and clearly.

Xemnas stared at me meaningfully and stayed quiet before; "...And might I know on which _side _are you on, young lady?"

I wasn't surprised at his question and was ready to answer. "...The outcasts, sir. I'm the President of the Angel Wings, the _only _Outcasts Club." As soon as I finished the whole school seemed to have stopped breathing.

However Xemnas was unfazed. "...So you're the melodious bluebird I've heard so much about...You were really a thorn on my side..." His emotions didn't change but I could sense the anger in his voice now.

I was standing alone in the front line now. I don't know where Axel or anyone else is but I hope they won't stop me for what I'm about to do next;

"With that sir, I'd like to issue a challenge."

The jocks burst into laughter at my words. Again, Xemnas waved a lazy arm at them to quiet down as he looked at me again.

"A challenge of what kind and what shall the bet be, _Aqua_?" He finally used my name.

"An all out battle for our freedom _sir_. It won't be against the school rules of course, but a competition between us outcasts against your jocks. If we win you demolish that policy and step down as Principal." That earned another row of jeering from the jocks.

"Interesting- and what if _I _win?" He smirked.

"Then I'll demolish my club and leave school." I heard a few voices protest behind me but I didn't care.

"_Hah, _although it is good that you're shutting down your silly little excuse of a club...but why should I care if you leave or not?"

"Because you won't have that _thorn _you hate so much around you. With me around school you can bet I'll start up my own _riot _against you whenever I have the chance." I said acidly.

Xemnas seemed to have considered it for a moment before suddenly cold, hard liquid rained down upon me. I was surprised and more sticky liquid splashed across my face and my body. A group of jocks had went to the front and delivered the ultimate punishment; _the slushy splash._

I gasped for air but the slushy kept coming until my whole body was soaked, revealing my undergarments. A few wolf-whistles were heard and some of them snapped photos of me as I was pushed down and kicked around. It was public humiliation.

Outraged shouts were heard as familiar voices screamed;

"_Stop that you bastards! Hey you pansy principal, do something!_" It was Ven's voice, no doubt.

"Do what? I don't see anything~" Xemnas said in a sing-song voice as he feign blindness and merely looked the other way.

I heard movements behind me but loud voices followed and soon the whole school was rumbling.

"_Get out of the way!"_

"_We're saving her!"_

"_Back off or I'll kill you!"_

I shielded my head as I felt pain all over my body but I was not about to cry even when the tears were already dangerously close.

"Oh for the love off...Screw off you fucking sons of bitches!" I heard a voice roared and finally the kicking and rain of slushies stopped. I choked back a sob as warm hands gently wrapped themselves around me.

"It's okay kid, I got you." It was Mr. Cid.

"I'm fine Mr. Cid." I felt my lips and found that they had split. Biting back the pain, I stood up on my own and continued to glare at the new principal.

"So will you accept it?" I asked as my glare intensified. "I'm not going to back down, not even through all this. You can hit me and humiliate me, but you cannot discourage me." I said defiantly.

Xemnas looked mildly surprised. Probably because I did not back down from the beating. Finally; "...Fine, I accept. We'll hold the competition in the coming week since the Music Festival will be cancelled. We'll make it a Sports Festival instead. _My men against yours_. However I will not step down from being principal, that is my condition." He said. "Oh and just so you know, the policy will be implemented as of today, until you beat me, that is." He smirked again.

I cursed inwardly but I knew I had no other choice. "Fine. I'll beat you hands down next week."

I did not break my eye contact with until the last second as I turned around, walking off with the rest of the school following me.

* * *

_Shorties Smarties #2 – How to make a poker game interesting_

It was an odd day for the Angels when they had an even odder visitor for the day (Fuu). While Aqua was busy interrogating the girl, our focus is aimed towards the odd group of four kids who happened to have nothing better to do then play a round of poker.

"This is _so _boring." Fang yawned. She turned her attention towards the blue-haired girl and thought to join her instead. _It might be more fun_, the raven-haired girl thought.

"Yeah, poker is only fun if there's some kinda' bet going on." Ven agreed, throwing his hand (cards) onto the table.

This one sentence caught Fang's interest. Now, why hadn't she thought of that in the first place? A bet would surely spice things up, not to mention getting rid of her boredom.

"You know what Ven? You're absolutely right." Fang patted the back of the confused Ven. Fang is starting to get excited from the game, but what would they bet on? "Howsabout' we make a bet gents? Just to heat things up." She said it with a little bit of flair to get the boys' attentions.

"Don't really mind but...what're we betting on?" Asked the hopeful Hope.

"We're broke, just so you know." Roxas added, sighing.

"Now now, we don't have to necessarily put our Munny at stake." Fang began her conquest. "I was thinking of something lighter- _clothed_, if you get what I mean." The woman smacked her lips seductively.

Now what do you think would be the normal reaction of three highly 'motivated' boys? Every one of them grew tenser, more serious.

"Do carry on." Ven raised his left eyebrow while putting his fingers together, one gesture that is normally made by mafias in old black and white movies.

"What I'm suggesting gents, is ..." Now this is Fang's way of fishing. She purposely lowered her body, showing of her 'assets' and of course, succeeding in getting their attention, yet again. "_Strip poker_." She winked oh so seductively.

"Strip pok-?" Roxas had almost yelled out if it had not been for Ven's and Hope's timely reaction of shutting his mouth.

"_Sssh!" _The other three shushed.

After Roxas had calmed down, Fang began again- "What'd you say gents? Not a bad deal no? One gal going against three guys. If any of you three win I'll strip a piece but if I win...all three of you strip a piece." Now this is what we'd call a cougar's trap. Normally any sane person would refuse, but three hormone-challenged boys are not who we would call sane.

"So all we have to do is win...any one of us...and you'll take of a cloth?" Ven repeated.

"Yup, _any one of you_." Fang smirked.

"Well you three can play if you guys want. I don't like playing games with my pride at stake like this." Roxas said and stood up from his seat. Now, being the sensible and rational one, Roxas was not about to fall into this trap. Besides, playing it with a girl like Fang and the prospect of seeing her naked is...tempting but he was only loyal to one girl- _Naminé_. Even if his feeling is one-sided he was not about to betray her trust, however low they might be, for something like this. No sir, Roxas is one loyal-

"Just so you know, _I'm not wearing my underwear today_." Fang winked.

"Ven, shuffle the cards." Roxas took back his seat, a serious look on his face. Yessir, Roxas was loyal indeed...

_15 minutes later_

"Nice bloomers there Roxy." Fang smirked, taking a picture from all three boys.

"How the heck can all of us lose and not win even once?" Hope grumbled, his face red with embarrassment.

"It's just not your luck today boys." Fang laughed, ruffling her wild black hair as she saved the picture.

"Hey bro...why'd we take this bet when there's three dudes and only one chick in this game?" Ven sighed, hiding his face from the camera's flash.

"I dunno'...prolly' cuz' that one chick is smoking hot?" Roxas shook his head.

"Point taken." Ven nodded his head glumly.

So ended Fang's boredom for fifteen whole minutes that lasted between Aqua's interrogation and after Naminé entered the room.

Just another normal day in the clubroom folks.


	13. CHAPTER XIII: A New Dawn Part 1

Ya-haw! Finally managed to update the 13th chappy before my exams start! I'm sorry if this chappy is a bit confusing (What with the whole Jock intro thing later) if you have any questions don't be afraid to PM me!

Special thanks to: miano53 , AquaStormXIV , OrganizationsNumberXIII , fujingodofwind ,Riku Uzumaki , XHollow18 aaaaaannnnddddd IceLilyLaura ! Love you guys ^^!

I really love your reviews guys, and thanks for PM-ing me whenever you guys are free! ^^. All of you really made my day, seriously! Oh and this chappy doesn't have any serious matter, just light preparations for the Sports battle! And oh, an old face from Aqua's past finally makes his appearance! Be prepared!

P.S. I'll be updating the next chappy a bit late (sorry!) due to exam week, but I'll be right to it the following week! Promise! Anyway~ R&R people! Enjoy the 13th chappy~! Ya-haw!

* * *

CHAPTER XIII: A New Dawn (Part 1)

* * *

_Aqua_

* * *

The hallway was filled with loud cheering as the student body praised and congratulated me. Still drenched with the sticky liquid, I muttered a quick "thank you" to Paine who had covered me with her leather jacket (Chick's a biker girl!).

Most of them wished me good luck and some even patted my back _for _luck. Suddenly I felt someone grabbed my arm and dragged me away from the crowd. It was Aerith. She was frowning and dragging me towards the clubroom minutes after what had transpired inside the assembly hall.

"Sit." She muttered quietly as she took out her familiar medical kit. I obeyed without hesitation as I looked at the girl awkwardly. She wasn't facing me as she had her back on me and was rummaging through her medical kit.

Lightning joined us soon after, the girl looking quite agitated as stomped inside and made to say something to me before Aerith held her back with a hand.

"She's my patient for the moment." She said quietly. Lightning looked at her and nodded, taking a couple of bandages from her as she stood behind me.

"I'm not even going touch on how _preposterous _that was back there!" Lightning growled as she wrapped my head with bandages.

"Really Aqua...That was reckless." Aerith sighed, dabbing some ointment on my lips.

I yelped a little from the pain but Lightning steadied my head and Aerith dabbed furiously on it. Tifa entered moments later, she had gone to my locker and brought my spare uniform as I told her the locker combination beforehand but she told me that she didn't need it, my locker was already bashed.

I groaned inwardly at the thought of picking up my books and not to mention other _items _that needed recovering from my locker (snacks and such).

"You have no one else to blame but yourself." Lightning said sternly, putting the finishing touches on the bandage a little too tightly for my liking.

Soon after, the very person I dread to see came in. _Axel_. The redhead narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms as he studied me. He finally sighed and went to the empty seat next to me.

"Didja' leave your brain at home today or didja' know how _stupid _that was? So I'll skip the lecture and ask what the hell were you doing just now?" Axel sighed as I gripped his hand for assurance. "...and you do know that your picture will be posted up on every social websites that exist?" He wasn't angry; rather he had pity in his eyes as he gripped my hand back.

"I had to do something..." I finally croaked out. I think my voice was breaking because the feeling of humiliation finally got to me. _No, I gotta' be stronger than this! For everyone's sake!_

"That something involved picking a fight with Xemnas in public?" Axel snorted.

I glared at the redhead as I held back the tears. It was frustrating to know how weak I am when it came to the matters of the heart. "I wasn't using my head back there, but I've already planned this since...since Principal Ansem visited me yesterday..." I mumbled quietly, remembering yesterday's event.

"The old man visited you? When?" Axel suddenly straightened up, looking serious.

"Yesterday evening...I met him by the beach." I answered carefully.

"What'd he say?" Axel pressed on.

I pursed my lips as I look into his eyes painfully. "I'm sorry hun' but...I promised him I won't tell anybody else." It was true, I gave him my word not to tell another single soul.

"Aqua..." He began, looking impatient.

"I'm sorry Axel, if you're allowed to keep secrets then I am too." I said defiantly, finally looking away from him.

Axel made to pursue the subject but Tifa came to my defence.

"She's tired Axel, let's leave her alone for a while hmm?" The brunette gripped my shoulders.

Axel frowned at her, as if wanting to say something. Finally; "Well it's you jocks' fault in the first place y'know?"

Tifa let out a scoff, looking quite disgusted at Axel. "I can't believe you'd say that Axel, do you think _I _or even Terra would want all this? Do you really think we're that low?"

Axel had stood up, eyeing the brunette angrily. "If you don't want to be blamed then don't join the jocks, I told you that two years ago and you didn't even listen to me-"

"Oh like how you listened to_ me _two years ago? I told you not to get tangled up with _those guys_ but did you listen to me that time Axel?" Tifa retorted angrily. Although she was not as tall as the redhead, she managed to stare him down as the two was close enough to kiss (Not the proper comparison for this kind of stuff but oh well).

Axel eyed her quietly for awhile before finally opening his mouth. "...I didn't have a choice back then." Was it just me or was the redhead tearing up.

"Everybody has a choice Ax...You didn't trust us enough to help you out, just like how you couldn't let go of the past...even if you wanted to." Tifa finally cracked as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Teef...I'm sorry." Axel finally said as he wiped the tears from Tifa's cheeks.

"D-Do you know h-how hard it is for us to l-lose our best friend? A-And you weren't even talking to _me _anymore even when we're in the same c-class." Tifa choked as more tears rolled down.

Axel was lost for words as he looked around for help. I merely stayed quiet as the two other girls suddenly found Aerith's medical kit to be extremely interesting. The tension finally broke when the door slid open, revealing Cloud and all the other club members as well as a few others.

The blonde took one look to understand that something important had happen in here as he shushed the others and motioned them to enter quietly. Xion seemed to have cottoned on and forced Roxas to quiet down when the blonde was making an effort to console Naminé.

Tifa quickly wiped the teardrops away and moved away from Axel, making herself scarce as she sat in the corner of the room and away from the others. Little hiccups and sniffs were heard as she attempted to conceal them.

I made to go to the girl but a firm hand stopped me. It was Cloud. The blonde gave me a small smile and he went to the brunette, sitting next to her as his mouth began moving. The sombre mood continued as Axel sighed and dropped into his chair;

"Auron's been suspended, that means we don't have a supervisor for the match. Think I'll go have a talk with Cid, see if he'd like to play the part." Axel muttered.

My lips parted slightly as I stared at the redhead. "Does that mean...you're going along with this plan?" It sure sounds like he is!

"Course I am, your plan is better than Xig's anyways." The redhead raised his knuckle at me as he smirked. "Let's give the jocks a run for their money."

I grinned and knocked his knuckle with mine. "We sure will."

Ven sat next to me as the other members began piling in. Axel had called everyone to discuss the battle plan. As the redhead made his way to the chalkboard (we still use this old school thing...) Tifa had calmed down and sat together with Cloud.

We moved the sofas and chairs towards the front as we faced the redhead. Axel looked around thoughtfully and coughed a few times.

"Looks like we've found ourselves another major trouble, this time against the big boss of the game himself, _Xemnas_." Axel hissed that name as we let out a sound of disgust. "He had been kind enough to send us the rules and types of _battle _we're gonna' play out in the Sports Festival."

Axel took out a few pieces of papers from his bag and set it on the desk. "The battle's gonna' be huge, you can bet all the Captains are gonna' be present...even Terra." Somehow when he said that, Axel's eyes had shifted to me and were eyeing me meaningfully.

I looked down and played with my skirt as I felt his eyes were still burning a hole on my head. I knew what he was thinking and I didn't like it. _What if by chance we have to fight him too? I don't know if I can do that... _What am I thinking? Of course I'll have to fight him if it comes down to it...

I shook my head as Ven raised his hand.

"So what kinda' event are we taking on here? I'm raring to go that's for sure." Ven pumped his fists up as Fang gave him a thumb up.

"_That_, we have a problem with actually." Axel suddenly frowned as he read the papers again. "It says here the main event is a five-way battle, involving the President of the club, the Vice-President, the Treasurer, the Secretary, and finally the General Affairs Manager. Other than the first two we've never actually sorted the others out."

Lightning suddenly stood up, looking tensed. "Hold on a second, you mean to say Aqua has to fight _alone_? That's a no-brainer, it's obvious she's gonna' get desecrated out there!"

"Gee thanks for the unbelievable amount of faith you have in me." I looked at her sullenly.

"I'm not chastising you here! I want to protect you Aqua, and I'm saying that this is exactly what Xemnas wants! You'll be pulverized and humiliated in front of the whole school!" Lightning breathed heavily as she made her point.

"We don't have a choice Light, don't forget Aqua's already agreed to whatever rules Xemnas set out." Axel said nonchalantly, but even he looked unsure of the settings himself.

Lightning made a 'tch' sound and sat down, crossing her arms as I patted her back and said "there, there."

"So do we know who the jocks have for their positions?" Xion piped up. The girl had been rather quiet but she seemed to be motivated with the meeting.

"You can bet Vanitas would be in the list, the dude's practically a one-man army." Demyx strung his guitar, a note of fear in his voice as he shuddered at the thought of the maniac.

"I agree with Demy, and also Sephiroth though I'm not sure he'll be in which..." Fang joined in.

At her words, Cloud tensed up and Aerith looked worried. Cloud mumbled Sephiroth's name as he frowned. Aerith gripped his arm as she told him not to think too much.

"Alright guys that's enough guessing." Axel clapped his hands, bringing our full attention to the board once again. "We don't know who they'll line up for us but the next bit here is the real problem. The Sports Festival itself." Axel tapped his fingers on the chalkboard.

He drew something what looked like a name list on the board and hit it. "We need fifteen people for the relay race, the cavalry fight, the obstacle course and the tug of war. They're the normal events to rack up points as a form of pretext that Xemnas thought up. If we don't win this first then the main event won't happen, and they'll win by default, plus the five selected person for the main event can't enter these events." Axel explained.

"So we have Aqua, Axel, Yuffie, Demyx, Ven, Light, Naminé, Cloud, Xion, Hope, Roxas, Fang, Fuu and myself...that makes fourteen and if we minus five out then we're left with..." Aerith counted with her fingers.

"...We're left with only nine people. Six contestants short, and we really need those that can go on par with the jocks." Axel sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Other than the tug of war, the other events don't allow the same person to enter two events. We're in a pickle here."

"We're doomed~" Demyx strung his guitar again.

"Although...looking at the bright side here, we can actually take other students into our club to join temporarily for the event...courtesy of our new principal of course. Seems like he's confident no one is gonna' join us." Axel said distastefully.

"Recruit?" Fuu suddenly said, snapping her fingers.

"Translation?" Axel smacked his own forehead, still unable to understand what the girl had said.

"Fuu said that we can go around recruiting people...I can see that now, I mean we still have six days before the Sports Festival right? One recruit in one day...maybe we can do it!" I was suddenly hopeful of the outcome. I looked at the redhead again as he was already thinking something.

"...Maybe you're right. It's not doing us any good sitting around on our asses waiting for ice-cream to fall down from the sky anyways. Alright, new battle plan- _Get Six People To Join Our Cause_, or let's just call it recruitment campaign...yeah, let's go with that." Axel shrugged and wrote it on the chalkboard.

"Any distinct characteristics we should look out for?" Lightning asked.

"Yeah, they're big, strong, and can run in the speed of light. If you find anyone that can do all three then rope em' up." Axel mumbled. I think his seriousness came off as sarcastic as the others chuckled and Lightning looked slightly put off.

"Then I fit all three quota, don'tcha think?"

All of us wheeled around to see a familiar, overlarge man who was grinning as he leaned against the door.

"_Snow_." Lightning sighed and shook her head.

"This area is off-limits to jocks big guy, _outcasts _only." Axel raised his eyebrows.

Snow made no recognition that he heard Axel as the giant man walked towards the front of the class (LOL) and towered Axel.

"Let me join you guys." He suddenly said, as all of us gasped (Lightning sputtered). I thought he was joking, but the big guy looked quite serious. He didn't even break his eye contact with Axel!

"Why in Kingdom Hearts' name do you want to join _our _side? Did Xemnas send you here to spy on us?" Even Axel didn't believe what he just said. After all, all of us knew why Snow was here in the first place.

"N-No! I'm here to get revenge on that guy! C-Can you believe that he took away my position as Captain? For no reason at all!" Snow said his point.

Lightning however, looked displeased with his answer. The girl stood up and jabbed a finger at Snow's chest as she sized him up.

"You think this is a game? You're fighting for your own gain and you think of no one else but yourself! We're fighting here for our freedom, and for our own sakes that we won't get splashed at by slushies, won't get shoved into lockers, won't get doodled on and least of all _ostracized _by our own friends!" Lightning sounded more bitter than angry. She kept jabbing her finger on Snow furiously as the larger man looked quite down with himself.

After a while; "...I'm not here for myself as well..." Snow took out his wallet and revealed a piece of tear-shaped jewel and a picture. Lightning was taken aback when she saw the jewel as she took a few steps back. "You know who it belongs to; I'm fighting for Serah, and also..." He looked at Naminé for a moment and handed the picture to the blonde girl.

Naminé let out a small gasp as she looked at the picture. "Riku..." She mumbled, touching the picture with her fingers delicately.

"He's my friend and teammate, I was the leader...should've been me in the hospital right now, not him." Snow shook his head. "That guy- Xemnas, he _congratulated _Riku for getting himself hospitalized, said it helped made his case stronger." He sounded angry, and it's no wonder judging from the fact that his own friend was made a sacrifice.

"Xemnas...that guy didn't waste any time to call the media and the school's board of director the moment the riot happened...the reason why he's been made the _temporary _principal is cuz' they said it was thanks to _him _that the riot was contained." Lightning spat. "Snow...If you really are fighting for my sister and Riku, do you really think you can fight against your former teammates? The football team would likely be in Xemnas' roster." Her anger at the large man vanished as it was replaced with something else, something I can't quite place just yet.

"I know that, but I already made up my mind. I'll set things right, I know I can save this school, and Serah!" Snow clenched his hand into a fist to show his determination.

"Say Serah's name one more time and I'll so much as...E-hem, never mind...If you really want to join us then it's all up to Aqua." Lightning nudged her head towards me.

Snow turned to look at me and I found myself staring into his eyes. A serene and soothing feeling emits as I looked into them, and I can't help but feel he wouldn't let us down. But he did hurt Lightning last time...and Axel did say Snow was the type to go overboard if things heat up...Would she really let such a loose cannon into the team?

"Please...Let me set things right." Snow whispered, pleading for a chance.

_I'll set things right_.

That sentence meant something to me a long time ago, said by a certain Herculean boy I would have rejected a month ago... The very same boy, who, I know find interesting and dependable. He who now can boggle my mind as much as Zack could...

"Okay, I trust you." I heard myself spoke, nodding my head at the same time.

Snow let out a loud cheer as he hugged Lightning (Poor girl was the closest victim) and twirled around the room. As he laughed and Lightning yelled "_Put me down you big oaf!_" I found myself thinking again...Do I have to face Terra if it comes down to it?

* * *

_Terra_

* * *

I never liked walking into the athletics' section. One thing was that I'd see all the faces of these kids that don't know right from wrong. The second was because I'd see _his _face around. The man that I despised yet I couldn't do anything about it.

Many bowed down when I walked by, few would simply mutter a simple 'hi' but I didn't care as I stormed into his office. Standing in front of the white room, I glared at the single, sole proprietor of the place; _Xemnas_.

"Didn't mother ever teach you how to knock?" He drawled, playing with a glass of wine in his hand. His office was as bright as always, contrary to the owner's true personality. On his desk now lies a new title other than the _Superior_.

"I see you've been made principal." I ignored his remark as I closed the door behind me. I didn't want anyone to bother us.

"And I see you're as uncouth as usual. What brings you here?" He asked indifferently.

My anger further intensified as I saw him watching a video on his personal computer; the very same video I've been made to watch minutes ago by Seifer.

"Why'd you do that to her?" I said through gritted teeth.

"Do what?" His eyes were still glued to the monitor. When he let out a chuckle, something inside me snapped. I grabbed him by the collar and seized him up.

"_Don't play dumb with me! You humiliated her in front of the whole school! Who's the one with no manners now?_" I growled as I drew his face closer to mine.

Xemnas looked unperturbed, rather he looked bored. His yellow eyes bore into mine as I glared back. Finally; "She's an outcast."

"So?"

"So she's not worth getting angry over."

"She's a human being!"

"So is the rest of the world."

"Are you making fun of me?"

"She's a rose, Terra." Xemnas suddenly put his hands on my fists, tearing it away from his collar. "A beautiful, lush rose. If a mere mortal were to set his eyes on her, they'll be enchanted, entranced by its beauty." Great, he's started his own monologue now.

"Can you cut the philosophical talk short? I'm running late for the meeting." It took me every ounce of self-control to let the man speak.

"How rude...Like all roses Terra, they have their thorns. Now the most unique and beautiful rose has the biggest, sharpest, and _deadliest _thorns. That melodious bluebird has been nothing but trouble ever since she came to this school. She changed people... Her feat, in managing to convince people to accept the outcasts, her words and actions that managed to round up the losers and make them rebel against the jocks' order..._our _order. One cannot simply look away from her uniqueness."

I have _no idea _what he's talking about. Literature has never been my fort and Xemnas could see that as he sighed and shook his head.

"To put it into simpler term _heathen_ is that she needs to be taken care of, _permanently_." Xemnas hissed.

"I'm not gonna' let you do that." I suddenly tensed up, my anger came back in full force.

"Why, I know that you'll say that but hear me Terra, your romance with the bluebird is fruitless. It is never going to happen." He smirked. The scumbag smirking is never a good thing.

"What do you know about us?" I grew suspicious and suddenly alert. What's he up to?

"Oh nothing much really...After finding out her identity I merely looked up her data on the school database, here." He moved the monitor of his computer to face me. Sure enough Aqua's picture was on it, along with her personal details.

"You can't read that, it's personal data." I said.

"Ah, but as the principal I am only concerned about the personal life of my students." His smirk grew wider as he said that. "My, my... She's quite the high-achiever...A straight 'A' student, President of the Student Council, Head Cheerleader and also the daughter of-"

"That's enough!" I yelled, slamming my hands onto his table.

"No, no, here comes the juicy part. Rumour has it that she's had a boyfriend before." Xemnas said calmly, twisting his fingers together.

"Yeah, and...?" I dreaded this. Trust Xemnas to dig up even the most miniscule of details.

Xemnas opened his cabinet and skimmed through the folders. Finally he found what he was looking for and threw it on the desk.

"I have all the information about SOLDIER. You see, being an investor in the project myself I have the leverage of information of all their candidates. After all, that's how I got Sephiroth to enrol here. Imagine my surprise when I found out that the _Zack Fair _that she once dated is in the list too?" He nudged a hand towards the folder, prodding me to read it.

I took it carefully and opened it. My eyes grew wide as I read the details.

"Do you see now why I say your love is fruitless? It is one-sided, she will never love you if _this _got out. Imagine the fact that _he _has been looking for her? Would she really go to you when her first love actually never _dumped _her?" He went on.

"What are you getting at here?" I felt the papers in my hand crumpled as I clenched my fists.

"Imagine now, Terra, the surprise she would find during the Sports Festival when she has to face an old flame in battle." There was no mistaking it now, he was planning to totally destroy her next week!

Without a word, I slammed the folder back onto his desk and stormed out of the room.

"My, my...such raw emotions..." Xemnas sighed and sat down, smoothing the crumpled paper. "You shall be a good pawn indeed, Zack Fair..._hm hm hm..._" He smiled to himself as he read the single line of words that the brunette had written on his transfer paper.

_I'm here to find my girlfriend, Aqua_.

* * *

"You're late." Sephiroth said tersely, sitting in his designated chair.

In contrast with Xemnas' office, the Captain's meeting room was a large room with little to no sunlight able to enter the place. There was a rectangular table in the middle of the room, a long one with rows of chair, majestic ones, lined up. This is the first time I've seen all except for two chairs to be filled.

_Everyone is here._ I thought to myself. I ignored the question and sat in the sole remaining chair up front; _the one that represents the head of these individuals._

"Hey, hey bossman, look who's back!" Vanitas had his legs crossed on the table as he pointed towards the other end of the table.

I looked over to where he's pointing to see Beatrix sitting in her old chair. The girl looked calm and emotionless as she sat quietly, crossing her arms as she did so.

"It's good to see you back in school Beatrix." I greeted the one-eyed girl.

"...I wish I could say the same Terra..." Her voice was low and dry. Seems like she's been _forced _to come back.

I looked around to count the attendance; sitting closest to me on my left was Sephiroth, the holder of the _White Snake_, next was Larxene, the _Yellow Nymph_, then Xaldin, the _Green Hornet_, Zidane, the _Blue Monkey_, and Leon, the _Red Lion_, he's a representative of the Enforcers. On my right was Vanitas, the _Black Panther_, Xigbar, the _Purple Hawk_, Seymour, the _Grey Shark_, and Amarant, the _Orange Tiger_. Snow's seat was vacant and Beatrix, the _Golden Valkyrie_, was sitting across me, as a show that her power rivals mine. On my collar, the symbol of the _Silver Dragon _was hung.

"So everyone's here." I repeated again, sighing to myself.

"Everyone except for Snow, the dude got himself kicked off _haw haw_." Vanitas clapped his hands in mock applause.

"Careful there, Snow's a good friend of mine." Zidane warned. For the first time in history I didn't see Zidane smile. The blonde looked quite stressed and displeased.

"Yeah? Whatcha' gonna' do about it if I run my mouth again?" Vanitas provoked.

"How about you two monkeys be quiet and we can get this over with?" Larxene interjected. She looked quite annoyed herself.

"Who told you to butt in sister? You got a beef with me too or something?" Vanitas riled up, his attention fixed on Larxene.

"Really now, must we always play this charade every time we meet? I find it quite tedious and unintelligent." Seymour sighed, shaking his head.

"Did he just call me stupid?" Vanitas pointed a thumb at Seymour.

"No, he called you a _dumbass, _dumbass!" Xigbar growled, smacking Vanitas' feet away from his face.

"Oh, okay then..._Waitaminute_, that's worse! Why I oughtta'-"

"_Sigh* _Why do I always waste my time with these Neanderthals? I should be out there looking for Aqua..." Sephiroth sighed, but he was speaking to no one in particular.

"Who cares what you want to do _Sephy_? Let's all make a hole in Seymour's head." Vanitas flailed his arms and stared at Seymour.

"I will not allow you to disrupt this meeting. The Superior has given out orders to complete today's objectives." Xaldin suddenly voiced out, glaring at Vanitas.

"_Hah! _Still the faithful mongrel ey' Xaldin? Even when we're gone for months you still haven't changed at all!" Amarant scoffed, the redhead locking daggers with the large man.

"Mongrel? Is he calling me a dog now cuz' I'll so-"

"_Enough_."

Beatrix said quietly as she hit the floor with her bamboo sword. The room shook from the impact and immediately the room quieted down. The aura she emits made the whole room tensed up as she looked around quietly.

"Vanitas, learn to respect others more. A man without manners is as good as being called an untamed dog, remember that." Her eye bore into Vanitas.

"Yes ma'am." Vanitas nodded sullenly.

"And Zidane, don't get easily provoked. You'll get killed fast if this was a war, learn to control your emotions."

"I'll remember that Beats..." Zidane said shamefully.

"Larxene you're a girl, be a bit more ladylike and try not to raise your voice when making a point. A lady is as strong as her etiquettes are polished, remember that."

"Y-Yes ma'am!" Larxene eyed her uneasily as she crossed her arms.

"Seymour haven't I always told you not to incite internal fights? I know you have your own opinions but if they are nothing nice then keep it to yourself."

"I'll remember that dear Beatrix." Seymour bowed his head.

"Xigbar I heard you're still running away from all your responsibilities. As a Captain you need to be more dedicated, and learn not to add oil to the fire when needed."

"Aye aye Cap'n." Xigbar said lazily as he turned away.

"Sephiroth...Just keep your own thought to yourself hmm?"

"Of course." Was all Sephiroth said as he went back to his own thoughts.

"Xaldin I know that you have a duty to keep but make sure to not only to fulfil it by a show of force, rather use what wisdom you have to settle any problems you face."

"S-Such wisdom! I will do my best ma'am!" Xaldin actually saluted as he said so.

"And _Amarant_. I've told you countless times not to insult others. Do I need to lecture you again about _humility_?"

Amarant only snorted as a response.

Beatrix has a knack to act like a mother at times. She kept everyone in line and before you know it, even scary individuals like these are eating from her hand. Finally when all seemed calm, I coughed a few times.

"Alright, let's get started shall we?"

As I said that another interruption just _had _to happen. Leon suddenly stood up and made to leave the place.

"Where are you going Leon?" Seymour asked, his delicate voice masked his menace.

"This is about the Sports Festival right? Then I have no reason to stay." The man said boringly, his backs turned.

"Oyoyoyoy, we went all the way to send you an invitation and you're gonna' ditch us? Who do you think you are you little-"

Before Larxene could even finish her words Leon had already started walking. This pissed Larxene off so much that she whipped out her knives and threw it at the man. Leon was prepared though, as he made to take out his blade to block the knives. However, the knives never made it to their intended target as Beatrix had swapped them away with _her _sword.

"What did I tell you about etiquettes?" There's no mistaking the anger in her voice now.

"B-But he's the one with no manners! Look, he's even leaving!" Larxene pointed towards Leon, who had already walked to the door.

"Even if I'm around it'll only be a burden to you guys...I work alone, and I'm sure as hell not good with this thing called 'teamwork'. Feel free to report me to your so-called _Superior_, I'll hand in this badge anytime he wants." Leon pointed towards his badge and left, slamming the door as he did so.

"Tch, cocky bastard." Larxene grumbled and slumped to her chair.

"He's not really a part of us is he? I mean he's only the head of the hall monitors- I'm sorry, I meant _Enforcers, _that's what they like to call themselves." Seymour chuckled to his own joke.

I waved a hand and Seymour became quiet again. Leon leaving doesn't really change anything, after all it's not his fight anyways. "So, since you guys have already read the fine print of the competition; who wants to be in the main event?"

All hands were raised into the air except for Beatrix and Amarant. _Sigh* I hope Aqua's having a better day then I am..._

* * *

_Aqua_

* * *

"Let's see now...we have Snow in the team so that makes it...five more people to recruit." I counted with my fingers as I walked into the school garden. I wanted some fresh air since classes were cancelled for today (My class anyways, the teachers weren't really up to teaching). Luckily Mr. Saix was absent or I'd have to drag my butt back for Maths!

I walked around the place and finally sat on a bench, with a tall tree next to it to give me a nice amount of shade needed for naps! But I wasn't particularly sleepy, so I decided to just sit there, thinking.

_I've only been in this school for less than two months and already I'm deep in trouble. If daddy finds out about this he'll have a fit! Then again, he might not care in the first place. I haven't called or checked up on him at all but I know he's doing fine- He'll be on the news if he snuffed it anyway._

I frowned to myself at the way I talked (thought) about my father. _Guess Axel's potty mouth finally influenced me_... I sighed and looked up to the sky (or what's left to see of the sky since the tree is blocking it!). _Maybe...maybe if I hum a tune like the old days then...then everything would go back to normal..._

"_Hmm~Hmm~Hmm~_" I began, not sure of which song to choose, but finally settled on a song Rinoa had taught me back in class once before. _What was the name? Oh yeah, 'Eyes on Me'..._

I smiled sadly at the irony of the name. _Here I was not wanting to attract attention when the name of the song...never mind let's just hum the tune now shall we?_

"_Hmm~Hmm~Hmm~_" I continued humming, closing my eyes as I rested my back on the wooden bench. I let myself drift away with the pleasant wind and the quietness of the surrounding as I continued humming the song.

"Rinoa?"

I jumped as I suddenly heard a voice behind my back. I held my arms up in defence as I looked around alarmingly. There was no one in sight, not a single soul at all.

_Then who just said that? E-Eep, is there a ghost in school too? Why is it that I can never catch a break at all! _

"Rinoa...is that you?"

I frowned this time. I definitely heard the ghost calling Rinoa's name. I mustered up my courage and went closer to the bench, finally sitting back on it and looked downwards. My eyes grew wide as I saw a boy...a boy lying on the fresh patch of green grass behind me. He had his arm on his eyes as he looked like he had been sleeping the whole time.

_Was he there the whole time I hummed the song? Oh dear I must've disturbed his nap!_

"I-I apologize, did I disturb your sleep?" I said quietly, hiding my face partially behind the bench.

He moved his arm slightly and revealed a pair of light blue eyes. I studied his face and noticed a long scar on his nose and like all the guys in this school, he has a very messy hair which was brown in colour. Our eyes met and we seemed to study each other for awhile before he mumbled "...Not Rinoa..." and turned to sleep the other way.

I was still staring at him of course, and thought that it was weird for him to keep mentioning Rinoa's name. _Maybe he's a creepy stalker...Best if I run away now..._

Before I could even move an inch he suddenly turned to face me again, his blue eyes fixed on me. "Where'd you learn that song?"

"H-Huh?" _Crud, run for it girl! _

"That song you hummed, '_Eyes on Me_', who taught you that?"

I was quite surprised that he knew the name of the song, but being a stalker he might have known it was Rinoa's song. _I have to choose my words carefully..._ "A-A classmate of mine." I settled with that.

"Her name?" He asked bluntly. _Crud, he already knows it's Rinoa..._

"Uh, it starts with an 'R'..." I stalled, not meeting his eyes.

"And the rest of her name?" He asked impatiently.

"A-And it ends with an 'A'." _Just stall him Aqua, stall him till he's pissed and you can run away with all your might..._

"Rinoa huh? That girl really taught you that?" He sighed, ruffling his hair.

"I-I think Rinoa's already taken Mr. Stalker." I suddenly blurt out. _Why the heck did I say that? Now he's going to kill me!_

"Stalker? What, you think I'd follow that annoying girl around?" He frowned.

"I'm sorry, but Rinoa's not _annoying_." I was frowning too. _He did not just call a friend of mine annoying. Well, if he had said Axel or Hayner I would've said otherwise..._

"Right, it's just that her school spirit is contagious, being a cheerleader and all." He snorted.

"Okay what is with you? First you kept calling for Rinoa, now you're insulting her? Make up your mind...uh, what's your name? I don't have to call you Mr. Stalker again do I?" I totally forgot to ask his name.

"...Squall." He said simply. "By the way you should've introduced your name first before asking for someone else's."

I coloured at his comment but I knew he was right. "S-Sorry, my name's Aqua." _Kinda' embarrassing to be lectured by a stalker..._

"Aqua...the melodious bluebird?" Squall asked quietly. The man had sat up and turned to face me.

My face probably grew redder but I nodded my head anyways. I don't know who started calling me that but I do _know _there's no other birds here in school...well, maybe except for Demyx (_Chicken-butt_, _heh _that Lightning...).

"Your name popped up in the meeting just now...Sephiroth couldn't stop blabbering about you." Squall sighed as he shook his head.

I frowned at the boy's words. What meeting? _Waitaminute_ if this guy knows Sephiroth then he must be... "You're a jock aren't you?" I asked lightly, tilting my head to the left.

The boy suddenly became quiet and stared at me. He didn't answer my question but one look at the shiny badge on his furry collar answered everything. _Sigh* I must have REALLY bad luck..._

"Alright if you wanna' throw a slushy at me can I at least take off my vest? I only got one and I don't want it to get sticky." I mumbled as I jumped onto the garden patch.

"What?" He frowned, crossing his arms as he watched me unbuttoned my vest and taking it off.

"Oh. A cola guy then? Well at least that's better than a slushy...those things are cold and they sting my eyes..." I muttered, not really paying attention.

The boy mumbled again, this time his tone was slightly angry; "_What _are you going on about? Slushy? Cola?"

"D-Don't tell me you wanna' kick me around instead?" I held my arms up in defence. "I-If so then please don't aim for my face! I don't want to look like a panda for the rest of the month!" I pleaded...well begged more like. This guy has to have some kind of sympathy right?

"I'm not going to do anything to you! Quit putting words into my mouth!" Squall suddenly jumped as he made his point.

"B-But you're the one who asked me if I'm the bluebird!" I inched away from him, scared. The boy seemed perplexed by my behaviour and he _inched _closer to me!

"Doesn't mean I'm going to hit you!" Squall said angrily.

"T-Then do you want to throw a cola to my face?" I asked, this time I'm really confused.

"No! I'm not going to do anything to you!" Squall sighed as his shoulders slumped.

"...Nothing?" I asked again, making sure of his intentions.

"Nothing." He nodded. Squall sighed again as he leaned against the tree, folding his arms as he gave me a weird look, the one that usually meant that I'm being studied like an experimental bug.

"That's weird, usually I'm number one on the jocks' hit list. Are you sure you don't want even a nibble?" I frowned and moved my face closer to his. Squall is really tall so I have to tilt my head up to see his face.

"Definitely no, and who said I'm one of those obnoxious buffalos?" Squall didn't flinch as he stared back into my eyes.

_Buffalos? Weird comparison... _"Aren't you wearing one of their badges?" I jabbed his badge lightly, a symbol of a lion portrayed on it.

"Doesn't mean I'm _one _of them. I'm a representative of the Enforcers, not that you'd know who we are-"

"The school's law-upholder? Wow, you're one of them." I was awed, speechless! I finally got to meet one of the _legendary _Enforcers! I grinned toothily as I studied his face from left to right.

"What's wrong with you?" He said with a tinge of annoyance, pushing my face back.

"Just curious, is all." I continued grinning, glad to know that he's not here to beat me up.

"I'm even curious how you would know us, most people would just address us as the school prefect or the hall monitor..." His voice trailed off, frowning as he recounted those experiences.

"Someone told me about you guys once, and I have a good memory...sort of. Hey, hey, if you're with the Enforcers then do you know a guy name Leon?" I asked excitedly.

"Leon?" Squall repeated, an expression of confusion on his face.

"Yeah, I heard he's a really cool guy! I never met him before though but I heard a lot about him...Hey, why are you _laughing_?" I asked as the boy had suddenly started laughing. I balled my hands into fists and placed them on my hips as I waited for him to calm down.

"I'm sorry...it's just that, what do you want to do when you meet him?" Squall asked, still chuckling as he closed one of his eyes to hold back his laughter.

"I want to thank him of course." I smiled as I turned around, my hands intertwined behind my back.

Squall had stopped laughing. "What for?"

I turned around to see the boy making a puzzled look as he crossed his arms. I continued smiling as I walked around in circles. "He did a lot of things...N-Not to me anyways but I heard he even helped out during the Destiny Isle's Fair a-and isn't he your leader? He must've had a rough time dealing with the jocks' attitude. It's even worse when the other students wouldn't do anything and even if he had gone out to the teachers or even the students themselves-"

"No one would listen." We said in unison.

I was surprised that he knew what I was going to say. I gave him a sad smile and nodded. "Yeah...no one would listen."

Suddenly, Squall smiled...although it was a small smile but still, it looked genuine. A true smile that made his grumpy face shine so much that I forgot he was just a teenager who is still in the prime of his youth.

"...You're a strange girl, Miss President of the Angel Wings." Squall was still smiling though, and looking at him now made me relaxed.

"Oh, you even know my position? Are you really not a jock?" I teased as he shook his head good-heartedly.

"Well...I thought you had a few screws loose when you challenged Xemnas in front of the whole school but now I see you're just plain mad." He joked...the boy has a sense of humour!

"I had my reasons sides', no one has the balls to do what I did anyways!" Curse Axel for influencing me with his foul mouth (Didn't I just curse about the same thing before...? Déjà vu...). I looked at him proudly though, to show that I have no regrets whatsoever.

"I guess not...but you were right though, you made the list for the jocks' hit list." Squall's comment made me slump my shoulders. He didn't need to remind me of that... "Hey, hey, no need to look so down, after all the rest of the school is on your side...I heard that even _Leon _is leaning towards you cause."

I perked up a bit as I looked up. "Really?"

Squall nodded his head. "Yeah, I heard he was really impressed by how you set up a club to help the kids who couldn't fit in. He'd wanted to pay you a visit for a long time now but he hadn't had the chance."

_Wow, the head honcho is rooting for me? And he was impressed by what I did? _"Then if it's no trouble to you...could you give him this?" I said as I suddenly got an idea. I took out a pen from my pocket and grabbed Squall's hand. I scribbled the instructions (briefly, he didn't have much space on his hand) to the clubroom and as I finished writing I looked up at him with a satisfied face.

"What's this?" Squall mumbled as he read it.

"It's the direction to my clubroom but don't tell the jocks though! I trust you..." I mumbled. Why did I trust him in the first place? _I dunno'...kinda' weird..._

"You want him to pay a visit?" Squall asked, holding his hand up.

"More than that actually...I wanted to ask for his help...If he's willing to join my team for the Sports Festival..." I mumbled, looking away embarrassedly. _I never even met the guy and I'm asking for a favour, gee..._

"Ask Leon if he wants to join the outcasts?" Squall looked amused though.

"J-Just for that one day! You don't have to ask him for me though, I'll ask him...no, I'll _beg _him if I have to myself!" I said determinedly. It was my responsibility so I'll do everything I have to even if it means casting away my pride.

"Even if you have to throw away your dignity?" He repeated the line I just thought to myself.

"Even if it comes down to me being his personal servant." I said loudly while holding my right hand out to punch the air. "His help would be a major turnabout for our battle."

"Really...I'll tell him when I have the chance then." Squall gave a small smile and nodded. "I have to go now, class is about to start...You should get going too." He said strictly. _Oh yeah, he is a prefect after all..._

"Thank you very much." I bowed a bit, thanking him for his help. _If Leon agrees to join us then we'll only have four more people to look for!_

"Tell Rinoa I said hi...or maybe don't. She'll just bug me even more if she knew I said that..." Squall mumbled sheepishly as he ruffled his hair.

"You're still gonna' stalk her?" I asked innocently.

"I'm not a stalker." Squall retorted, annoyed.

* * *

_Yuna_

* * *

"Can you believe that guy disbanding our club? Well I can't!" My club member and friend, Selphie, exclaimed as she carried one of the boxes that were lying on the floor.

"We can't do anything about it Selph...He's the principal." I tried my best to put up a smile. It was really hard to fake it, _I need to ask Aqua how to do it next time I see her..._

The two of us were the remaining club members to leave the clubroom as we volunteered to clean up all the stuffs. _It was a good run though, I had a lot of fun here. _The books, musical instruments and all the other stuff were already boxed and ready to hit the storeroom. I felt sad that we're not going to see them anymore...

"But we worked so hard to earn the Munny for the Music Festival..._You _worked hard to make it happen Yuna...I'm just disappointed that the Munny you collected was confiscated by Xemnas..." Selphie gave me a look of pity as she went out.

After a few rounds of going back and forth from the clubroom to the storeroom, we were finally finished. I didn't recognize the room at all, so barren and empty.

"_Ahh_, my arms are sore...Hey Yuna wanna' go to the cafeteria to sneak a few snacks into class?" Selphie grinned mischievously.

"Oh...I-It's okay Selphie I'm not that hungry...besides..." I looked around longingly.

Selphie seemed to have caught on as the girl sighed; "_Sigh* _Okay, okay I get it...I'll leave you alone for a few minutes kay'?" Selphie waved goodbye and walked out the clubroom.

I nodded my head and appreciated the time she's giving me. As I was left with the barren room I walked around a few times, remembering the good old times when I used to sing and dance in this room..._Now...Now it's all over...Just like a dream..._

Tears rolled down my cheeks as I didn't want to leave the place. _I don't want this to happen, I don't want the club to dissolve, I don't want everybody to leave...This dream, this bad dream...make it stop! Somebody save me...Tidus...Anyone..._

I sobbed and crouched on the floor as I cried alone. I always loved the time when I sing and dance...Now it's all over.

"What're you doing crying a river in here?"

I hiccupped and turned to see who had said that. Leaning on the door and crossing her arms as she looked at me in annoyed manner was Paine. I don't how long she has been standing there but I quickly wiped the tears away and gave her a smile...kind of.

"Just saving the moment..." I mumbled, looking at the floor.

"What? You've got lots of bad memories in here?" She teased as she came closer.

"N-No, I've always enjoyed-"

Paine patted my head and she ruffled my hair soothingly as she nodded understandingly. "I know." She simply said.

I felt a sense of gratitude for the girl and nodded back, letting the tears flow once again. "There, there." Paine ruffled my hair again, closing her eyes and trying her best to sooth me.

"_Uuuuh_...It's not fair...Why do I have to say goodbye when we worked so hard to keep our club alive? We've been looking forward to the Music Festival too..._Sniff*_" I said through my tears. It was so unfair what happened to us.

"I know." She said again, simply standing there.

"A-And Tidus worked hard too. Was all his hard work a waste? A-Aqua and Terra and everybody else...I let them all down..." I buried my face in my lap as I cried harder.

"It's not a waste." Paine finally said. "What happened to you...was unfair. No, it was _uncalled for_ and that jerk did this just on a whimsical purpose." She sounded angry.

Even I knew that but what can I possibly do? I'm just one girl against a very powerful man...I could ask Aqua for help but...No, I don't want to trouble her, after all she has her hands full already going against that _jerk_.

"...I quit the jocks, just so you know." Paine suddenly said.

I twisted my neck upwards to look at the girl. "B-But you _love _fencing!"

"Yeah but...It's just not worth it y'know?" She said with a small smile. She had a look on her face that says she's missing the sport and I know how much she loved it. She's been excited ever since she started practicing and now she went and quit...for me?

"Oh Paine...Now we're both clubless." I sniffed.

"I don't think that's a word. We're _outcasts_, more like." Paine chuckled but it quickly stopped.

Something dawned on us as we looked at each other. The gears in my head were already turning as the idea practically formed on our faces.

"Paine..." I mumbled her name softly.

"Yuna..." She mumbled back.

"They're going against the jocks..."

"Suits me, I could use with getting revenge on those bastards."

"And Aqua and the rest could use all the help they can get..."

"I'm already on my way to sign up actually."

"Sounds like a plan..."

As we finished each others' words the door suddenly opened.

"_Excuse me~! But is this the cheerleading club? I like to enrol please!_"

I remembered the girl; she was the head cheerleader for the Spira's Sin...Why would she be here?

"No this is-" I began but Paine puts a hand on my mouth.

"-You can come with us if you want to enlist." Paine grinned evilly.

The blonde looked at me and then to Paine; "Okay!" Was what she said as Paine chuckled lightly.

"Axel said he needed club members...We'll give him plenty." Paine said to herself and grinned to me. I found myself grinning back.

* * *

_Aqua_

* * *

After talking to Squall I didn't feel like going back to class so I decided to walk around the school instead. I passed by a lot of students and some of them gave me encouraging words for the Sports Festival while others (I suspect they are jocks) told me I'm going to die in my bed tonight...very reassuring.

I sighed as my eyes darted towards the school's main bulletin board and I saw the picture of me in my see-through uniform plastered all over it.

_Why did I wear black undies to school today? I could've worn my whites but nooo, I had to choose black!_

I didn't feel like taking down those photos because I know more will pop out anyways (Technology these days...Sheesh!). I walked past my _'Wall of Shame'_ and went on towards the library. I stayed there and had a conversation with a guy named Zexion (Weird name right?) who turned out to be a student too. Although brief, I at least had an intelligent conversation with him about Ipsen (The Colin Tree guy, remember?).

It's been a long and hectic day...and I was _sooo _ready for it to end! _C'mon bell! Ring already!_

No sooner did I say that did the dismissal bell ring. _What, it worked? Wow..._

As the students piled out I was caught in the middle of the human wave and yelped as my toes were stubbed, pinched and stepped on. "D-Don't push!" I yelped helplessly as my voice was drowned out by the chatters of the student. I sighed as a sign of defeat and let myself be led to the outside effortlessly like a human rag doll.

_Oh well, it's not so bad. Tifa's sure to pick my bag up for me and I can get out of school easily like this. All I have to do is ride the wave! Ride the wave Aq-_

My train of thought was interrupted as I caught sight of a certain brunette. A certain _familiar _brunette. A face I haven't seen in a while. Amidst the chaos there he was, standing casually next to the lockers and playing with his phone. He was smiling...the same smile he always smiled...as he turned left and right his spiky black hair bounced with his every move, bouncing and dancing in the air.

I couldn't see his face clearly at this range but I'm positive it's- "Zack..." I mumbled, sensing a surge of happiness in my heart as I tried to push the human wave.

"Zack..._Zack!_" I screamed helplessly, pushing past the students. _I'm so close to him! Any second now... _And a new wave of students came out from the classroom next to where he was standing.

"No, _no! _Zack!" I cried, holding my hand out to no one in particular. I was swept away by the human wave as I watched the spot he had been standing on seconds before he vanished.

Helplessness. That's what I have always felt when I'm around Zack.

* * *

_Shorties Smarties #3 – Rinoa's cheerfulness is something else_

The clubroom was awfully quiet with no one around. Aqua was doing her part-time job around this time and the only ones present in the clubroom were Axel and Xion. Axel had warmed up to the girl after saving her from the jocks months back, and the girl felt a mutual feeling with the redhead.

However, they had a special guest that day. There they were, chatting about something concerning the Destiny Isle's Fair (_See chappie XI*_) and their plans to help out Tidus (The boy had came in earlier to beg for help) when the door suddenly slid open again.

"Hello~ Is this the Angel Wings Club?" A head popped in, a_ smiling _head.

"Yes, how may we help you?" Xion, usually an upbeat, slightly tomboyish girl, was polite today. Maybe it's because she's in a good mood, or perhaps her inner girly instincts are starting to show.

What caught her off-guard was that the visitor suddenly jumping in, making a cartwheel as she did so and landed with a perfect split. The redhead, being a person with rational and reasonable thinking, decided right away that the girl that had just entered was a weirdo.

"Uh, what'd you want Rinoa?" The redhead knew her of course. He had memorized all of his classmates' names and faces, except for that round, chubby boy. _What was his name again...Wench? No, no but that's close..._

"_Giiiiiiiveeee _Me an _R! _Give me an _I_! Give me an _N_! Give me an _O_! Give me an _A_! What does it spell? RINOA!" The girl cheered after making each of the alphabet by herself (How the hell did she made the R, N and A?).

"Right, I know your name. What'd you want?" Axel felt the need to ask the question again. He was used to it, seeing as his usual friends are not normal in other people's eyes.

"_Tee hee_." The girl merely giggled, shaking a pom-pom in front of the redhead.

Axel suddenly felt a bad premonition indeed.

_20 minutes later_

"Why the hell am I here again?" Axel mumbled to himself as he held up his pom-poms.

It was sunny out on one fine afternoon. The Angel Wings (all of them were here now) had decided to learn how to cheer, in light of them trying to mingle with the rest of the school apart from the jocks. Aqua, being the President of the club, decided to enlist them into the cheering squad, for she thought they needed to learn how to be cheerful. Now, who else is more cheerful and hyper other than the head cheerleader herself, Rinoa?

"Now give me a _D_! Give me an _E! _Give me an _S_! Give me a _T_! Give me an-" Rinoa jumped up and down as she gave the rest of the Angels her winning smile. "Come on now, I can't hear you back there Aerith!" The girl laughed.

"Aye! I-I mean _I_!" Aerith, in her cheerleading uniform, jumped and made an 'I' shape.

Just for that one day, they had to follow whatever Rinoa asks them to do. It was the absolute order of the President...or they might get Divine Judgement from said President herself.

Although the others would have agreed, Axel would have relented. The boy prided himself in being able to make Aqua do whatever he asked or ignore anything _she _asked that was deemed tedious to him. But today was different, the girl had threatened to stop doing his homework if he did not attend the 'cheering' course.

"Come on Light, give me an _N_!" Rinoa laughed again, still jumping up and down.

"_How the hell am I supposed to bend my body to make an N?_" Lightning cursed back, but the girl merely laughs it off. It was then that Axel thought again that she really might have a few screws loose...or perhaps she is just too happy about everything.

Axel was not happy at all. He didn't mind having to wear the silly male cheerleading uniform, he didn't mind the fact that he has to wave those silly pom-poms, but what ticks him off is that-

"GIVE ME A Y!"

Axel mentally slapped himself as the brown-haired boy bellowed next to him. Why oh why did Aqua place him next to Terra? He couldn't fathom the reason...oh wait, yes he can- It was her way of getting revenge for all his past misdeeds.

"Get those feather dusters away from my face." Axel grumbled, annoyed with the boy. Of course Terra, being Terra, merely laughed it off and shook the pom-poms harder.

"Somebody save me..." Axel groaned. He was at his wits' end, trying to figure out a way to escape.

It was then that he noticed Xion giving him a signal with her facial expression. Being a sharp guy, Axel slowly backed away from the front line and slowly makes his way to the brunette.

"Over here." She whispered. Intrigued, Axel followed her as she led him to the high benches, and it was there he met the other escapees; _Cloud _and _Lightning_. The two odd pair gave him a silent look and just by that one look, Axel being a sharp guy, understood. They were manly enough to _not _do this 'girly' cheer routine. It was too much for them (Even Lightning).

"Here's the plan- We run for it." Lightning whispered urgently. Although it was intriguing for Axel to see Lightning in a cheerleading uniform. Any other men would have fallen for her then and there.

"What about the others?" Cloud asked urgently, looking at his comrades who were sweating and dying (exaggeration) out in the heat.

"It's too late to save them, don't look back." Lightning said sadly, shaking her head as she planned their escape route.

Before they could even hustle out however, a sweet, dangerously alluring voice was heard behind their backs.

"_Where are you going~? The session hasn't ended yet~ tee hee_" Rinoa was behind them, looking quite like a sweet, maniacal person seen in thriller movies about killer cheerleaders.

"_Every man for himself!_" Axel yelled as he ran for it. The others did too, and soon all the Angels ran. Axel thought it was brilliant. Rinoa couldn't possibly chase all of them at once, and soon he'd be home free and-

Suddenly Axel tripped over something. A careless mistake, tripping over his own shoes...or did he? As he lay down on the ground he noticed a rope tied around his ankle. It was then he noticed all the other club members (Even Terra) were sprawled on the floor, tied to the same rope.

Rinoa walked slowly towards Axel as the redhead tried desperately to claw his way to freedom.

"You couldn't possibly think I didn't plan for you escaping now did I~? I wonder how many cheerleaders had tried to do that already~? _Tee hee~_" Her giggle was unnerving. It scared Axel to no end. How she managed to tie them all together to the same rope was another thing that made Axel wonder. "Now I'm 100% sure Squall wouldn't be able to escape me~"

They were guinea pigs. Axel should've seen that, being a sharp guy, as he screamed while Rinoa dragged him back to the rest of the Angels.

Just another normal day for the Angels folks.


	14. CHAPTER XIV: The Wheels Are Turning Par

Ya-haw! It's been awhile people! I'm soooooo sorry for the late update! (Exams finished about two weeks ago) and here I am finally updating ya-hawie! Well, i wouldn't want to say much as this chappie is kinda...romancy? For my style that is XD

I would like to thank: (Of course these wonderful reviewers!) Aquastorm XIV, InfinityStream, Riku Uzumaki, fujingodofwind, miano53, XHollow18, OrganizationsNumberXIII, Draconic, just2awesome, Zexionisawesome, XDivinexMadnessX, and my 100TH REVIEWER ..L1ght! (Who actually was kind enough to remind me as the 100th reviewer! XD)

YA-HAW! I've finally reached the 100th Review! Sob* I'm so happy! XD Anyways I hope you guys enjoy this chappie, it's kinda'...well, romancy (again?). Reviewwww! You guys know I love getting em', and this time I'm prepared to answer all with the sudden twist at the end of the chappie (dun* dun* dun*!) Well without further ado, the 14th chappie~

* * *

CHAPTER XIV: The Wheels Are Turning (Part 2)

* * *

_Aqua_

* * *

I waited. I waited as long as I could as the students piled out from the school. Earlier I spotted Ven amongst the midst of the crowd and grabbed him by the collar before he went out of sight. The boy made a confused look as I explained the situation, making sure he followed my every order correctly.

"Look out for a guy with really spiky, black hair and blue eyes." I told him.

"But there are a _million _guys like that in our school Aqua." Ven groaned but he kept a lookout regardless.

Pretty soon the crowd thinned out and we were alone, waiting restlessly for Zack to show his face. I crouched and hugged my own legs as my determination grew stronger. _I want to see him again. That idiot, think he can escape from me can he? I'll show him, I'll wait here until the school gates closes if I have to!_

"Aqua..."

Ven's soft voice snapped me out of my own musing. "Mmm...?" I mumbled incoherently, looking at the boy.

"Can you tell me who this guy is? And why'd you want to see him anyways?" Ven was jumping up and down energetically, or rather because his legs were starting to lose some feelings in them.

"Ah..." I thought he might ask that. Now what am I going to tell him? "He's..."

Luckily (and nice timing BTW) Roxas suddenly came out and waved at us, distracting Ven from pursuing the subject. The twins immediately broke into a playful fight and rolled around on the ground, bringing a small smile to my face.

The two went off later, with Ven apologizing for not able to stay but I told him it was alright, and I was left alone with my own thoughts accompanying me (and bugs, let's not forget the earthworms and weird-looking ants now). I called Lulu to tell her I wasn't able to make it today and again, waited.

Afternoon soon turned to evening, and finally night-time. If this was a prank made by the boy to literally tick me off then he succeeded. I stomped my foot impatiently as I unwrapped the wrappers of a chocolate bar (I had one on me just in case, courtesy of my first meeting with Axel) and bit a huge chunk of it. I was probably acting stupid, he could've gone out through the back gate or even jump off from the walls surrounding all sides of the school (Well...He _is _a SOLDIER). Maybe he was never even in the school to begin with, that I was just deluded and Aerith would pass it off as heat-stroke.

"Aqua...?"

My heart skipped a beat as I turned to the voice who called my name. _Could it be...?_

"What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?" Xion looked quite surprised herself.

I felt slightly disappointed but I quickly gave the girl a smile. "Hey Xion, _what are you doing out here in the middle of the night?_" Smooth move girl, counter a question with a question!

"I'm jogging. This is my usual route and school is quite close to my house. Now why are you here again? Have you been standing here all day long?" The tone of surprise was very clear in her voice.

_Snap, I'm busted. _"Uh...kinda'...but don't tell anyone! _Especially _a certain porcupine-head or chocobo-head." I made a shushing gesture at her. "I don't want Axel and Cloud to pry into this."

Xion stared at me silently for a while, as though contemplating her next action. Finally she nodded and I let out a sigh of relief. "I won't tell anyone but...you have to let me know why though."

"Why'd you wanna' know?" I raised my eyebrows at the girl.

"Just curious is all. Incidentally Roxas told me that Ven told him that you were acting weird this afternoon, said something about looking out for a spiky-haired guy maybe?" Xion recounted with a smile as she leaned against the school gates.

"I'll tell you if you don't tell them too." I said quickly.

So there I was, explaining about first love and how they're forever and whatnot. I even went to details about how I saw him in the middle of the crowd, just _standing _there as if he's used to the place. Oh by the way, Xion was the next person who knew of Zack's full name, I finally told her.

Xion stayed quiet for the most part, usually snorting or even let out little gasps over my explanation and then after I finished she was merely looking at me with a thoughtful look. The silence prolonged until she finally opened her mouth to speak;

"I dunno' how to say this Aqua but...don't you think it's kinda' funny how Zack happened to just be _standing _there when you were around?"

"What are you implying? I don't think he realized I was there though, he didn't even look at me..." If he did I bet he'd look really scared for sure, I'll shoot laser-beams from my eyes and vaporize him.

"Sorry, let me rephrase that; _Isn't it suspicious that the boy you were in love with just so happens to be appearing in front of you after your little speech in front of Xemnas?_" Xion said, her voice laced with seriousness and vigilance that could make Mr. Cid proud.

_Wasn't it Mr. Cid who always yells "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"? Oh wait, think I got the wrong guy...Sorry Professor Moody..._

"I don't really know Xi...For all I know I could have looked at some random kid and thought he was Zack." I sighed as I crumpled the wrappers I was holding and threw it into a nearby rubbish bin.

"And yet you still wait out here till the dead of the night right?" Xion gave me an understanding smile. Crud, do I really look so hopeless that an underclassman has to give me an encouraging pick-me-up look?

I didn't exactly answer her question as I turned to look at the school. I rubbed my hands together and finally realized how crazy I was. Here I am standing in front of the school way past the dismissal hour and still wearing the school uniform waiting for a phantom to whisk me away... Maybe Yuffie was right, maybe I should learn to let go of the past...

* * *

"I dunno' cuzzie maybe the best solution for this is to talk to somebody." My cousin, Yuffie, said seriously over the phone.

I bid farewell to Xion about an hour ago after making sure she'll stick to her promise, but fortunately I didn't say I can't tell anyone about it though. Yuffie was my definite Number One in confiding secrets. Despite her ditzy attitude and air-headedness she's, well, _family_.

"I'm talking to you now aren't I?" I twirled a few strands of my hair nervously. Please give me a more useful advice, is what I'd like to say.

"Yeah but~ I'm not really the right person to tell you what to do cuz~" Yuffie's voice drawled as some noises were heard in the background (I'm guessing she's watching television).

"Care to elaborate on that? You've always been telling me what to do even if it's none of your business or anything." I'm telling the truth here, Yuffie's always had me on a leash and I always ended up listening to what she told me to do.

"Cuzzie you know what I mean~ I'm saying that this isn't my fort. _Love_. That's what you wanna' ask me right?" Yuffie hit the mark. I felt a sense of momentary admiration for my cousin at her uncanny instinct.

"...Yes..." Was what I could say.

"Then I'm definitely not your gal, sorry cuzzie but the Great Ninja Yuffie has never let her heart be stolen by some random, clueless guy and that will never happen." Yuffie snorted.

"But don't you have a crush on that college guy Vincent-or-something?"

"..."

I definitely stabbed a vulnerable spot there. I waited patiently as I let my cousin gather her senses and come up with a good retort.

"T-That's nothing! I-I mean it's just a phase, I don't even k-know the guy that well!" Yuffie is flustered...wow...

"Aren't you guys still keeping in touch with each other on the net? I mean, I did see him post something on your wall a few days ago..." I recounted.

"W-We're getting off-topic here! Cuzzie if you need to talk about love with someone then you should already know who that is, if you don't then here's a clue; _her name rhymes with Meredith_. See you at school tomorrow cuzzie I gotta' go now toodles!" Yuffie said hurriedly and ended the conversation.

I giggled in satisfaction as I managed to make her feel embarrassed for once. I searched my contact book and dialled the number of the girl in Yuffie's so called 'clue'. I waited for a few seconds before someone picked up.

"Hello Aerith, sorry to bother you this late at night. I was wondering if you're free tomorrow after school..."

* * *

"Aww, the dress looks cute on you!" Aerith sighed dreamily with twinkles in her eyes. She was still in her school uniform while carrying her bag and a camera (She said it was a gift from Cloud, but why bring it today?).

"Thanks Aerith, come in and wait for a while." I smiled.

We met up in the cafe I worked at and I led her to an empty table. Still being forced to wear the maid outfit, I couldn't help but feel that Aerith was secretly taking photos of me now behind my back.

I brought her a glass of iced lemon tea and went about my usual work of entertaining the regular customers and after the cafe seemed pretty empty, I finally was able to take a break. I took a seat across Aerith and groaned a bit as my legs were sore from standing all those hours.

"I know that feeling don't worry." Aerith winked, obviously implying about my feeling of relief from seating down.

"Sorry for the long wait..." I mumbled apologetically. Well, I was the one who asked her to come here in the first place and I left her seating there alone for hours...I think she's pretty happy herself though, what with playing with her camera and all.

"It's no problem sweetie, so what is it that you wanted to talk about?" Aerith stuffed her camera back into her bag and her emerald green eyes looked at me understandingly.

I shifted in my seat as my insides squirmed uneasily. I didn't really feel up to it to tell her this because it'll only bother her but at the same time I feel like wanting to share my problems with her. Aerith gives of this sort of vibe that makes you want to share all your troubles and worries while at the same time wanting her to console and comfort you.

Sensing my hesitation, Aerith smiled a bit and took my hands into hers. "It's okay sweetie, you know you can tell me anything. Is there something troubling you? Is it the jocks again? Are they giving you trouble? Or is it something else? Perhaps it's ..._a boy_?"

I felt like my heart had just been shot with an arrow. She's definitely the motherly type no doubt. "You're good." I managed to grin as she gave me a wide, understanding smile.

"Oooh a boy? Who is it? Is it Axel? Or maybe is it Terra?" Aerith sounded really excited all of a sudden. She really looked like the hyperactive mother who just found out her daughter finally has a crush on a boy.

"N-No! Neither of those two!" I felt my own cheeks burning with embarrassment as I shook my head vigorously.

I could see the incredulous idea forming in Aerith's head right now. No doubt she's forming her own sort of fantasy about this mystery guy right now.

"I can assure you it's not Ven, Roxas, Cloud or any other male students in our school Aerith." I quickly explained, not wanting her to continue with her daydream.

"Oh...?" Aerith's eyes widen as she absorb that piece of information. "Then who could it be?" She tilts her slightly to the left as she tried to guess.

"Well..." I'm feeling slightly squirmish right now... "Remember about my ex-boyfriend who I told you guys about back in the dorm the other night?" I began.

Aerith's mouth formed an 'o' shape as she remembered and she nodded her head quietly.

Guessing the silence is my cue to continue; "Well...I just wanna' ask you if it's...well how do I say this... How do I move on?" There, that's the right question I've been dying to know the answer of it.

I bit my bottom lips lightly as I anxiously look at Aerith. The older girl made a thoughtful look for awhile, as though contemplating on what to say. I knew she was the right girl to go to, after all, she's the only one I have knowledge of ever having a boyfriend (Besides Naminé but the girl doesn't have any real experience of breaking up, and I hope she doesn't).

"Hmm... That's a toughie'." Aerith finally said, chuckling a little at her own words. "I don't know if you've ever heard this before Aqua, but I used to date-"

"Sephiroth. Cloud told me, sorry." I interjected, looking at her with a slight apologetic face. I guess she didn't want that info to go around.

Aerith looked slightly surprised at first, but it was replaced with a playful frown. "Hmm, looks like I have to punish Cloud for his loose lips."

"How on Earth did you even wound up with that guy? I mean, sure he's tall, his skin is silky smooth and pale, kinda' skinny but buff body and he's kinda', wait no, really hot but-"

"I'll admit he's a perfect ten on the looks, he's a real treat for the eyes." Aerith chuckled as she agreed with me. "But... I have to confess something though Aqua, Sephiroth's not my first boyfriend." This time it was her turn to look at me apologetically.

"What? But I thought Cloud said-"

"I told Cloud that we've gone out together but the innocent boy seemed to have thought we were an official couple. Sephiroth and I were never really together. We, uh, kinda' hitched up on..._something_." Aerith seemed a bit embarrassed about it, but that got my spidey-senses tingling.

"_Oooh_, and what might that be~?" I gave her an evil grin. The girl squirmed under my stare and she finally gave in after a few seconds (Muahaha, squirm Aerith, squirm!).

"Fine, fine... Let's just say he was a big help to my mother's flower store. He came by really often back in our first year and that's when the rumours started circulating around school. You could say part of the reason of me being an outcast was because of him." She sounded fine with it somehow, as though not blaming the guy for her misfortune.

"But...You guys went out on dates and stuffs right?" I pressed on.

"We did, and I won't deny that they were wonderful. _Seph _really knows how to charm a girl and his words were no less pleasant than his mannerism. But..." Aerith's face darkened as the smile slid of her face.

Uh-oh, here it comes, the backlash or should I say, the chink in the godly-perfect-ten-boyfriend-material-kind-of-guy.

"What? What? Did he want something more than a kiss? Did he want your body instead? Or maybe he's the jealous type? Did he hit one of your male friends because that guy was too close to you? Or maybe-"

"_He wanted to get married_."

"..."

I stared at the girl for a long while. The words didn't really process well in my brain so I think I need to change the batteries and clean out the viruses.

"Oh...Ah..." I definitely heard myself mumbling. What can I say? I didn't really expect that kind of answer really. It's like you're asking a six-year old what he wants for Christmas and he answered he wanted a Ferrari 458 Italia with a V-8 engine, dual-clutch gearbox and can go up to 325 kilometres an hour.

"And he was serious about it too. He even went to visit my mum to ask for permission. He proposed to me in a restaurant not far from Midgar when we were in our Second Year." Aerith explained further.

"And what did you say when he proposed?" I felt slightly giddy though, I don't know why. Maybe because this story has a slight feel of forbidden love and marriage involved?

"Of course I declined! I couldn't- I mean- I'm not ready to get married yet!" Aerith flustered, her face growing red.

"Of course." I nodded in agreement, although I couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed with her answer. If she had said yes then my *_ahem_* inappropriate fantasy would have been complete.

"But it was after that when my real nightmare began. He didn't want to take 'no' for an answer so he began...stalking me. Every day he'll find an excuse to be alone with me either in class or in my flower shop, he'll force me to... Let's just say he literally _gives _himself to me and he'll even follow me home. My mum knows him and I can't really turn him away since he's our number one customer..." She shuddered.

I never had a stalker before (At least I think I don't, Zack always drives the other guys away) so I'm not really sure I can console her in any way. All I can do was nod and give her a sympathetic look.

"So how did you finally get rid of him?" She _did _didn't she? Or else he wouldn't go on a blind date with me.

At this point Aerith managed to recover her smile again. I have to admit, I like her better this way.

"Cloud." She said simply. "Sephiroth doesn't like him and when he started hanging out with me that finally drove Sephiroth away."

"How'd Cloud wound up in this?" I was really curious now, is there a sort of love triangle between these three? Uh-oh, my *_ahem_* inappropriate fantasy is starting again.

"I hired him as a bodyguard." Aerith smiled satisfactorily.

"I remembered you saying that back when we first met... Care to elaborate on that~?" I nudged her hand for further information.

"He's a SOLDIER right? Well, he's more of a freelancer and he told me he'd do it for free too...I can't thank him enough for that." Aerith sighed and looked away dramatically. She really looked like a mother...or maybe even a goddess.

"How'd you guys meet?"

Aerith turned to smile at me again, this time a really bright, radiant, dazzling, etc. (happy thoughts) smile. "A really close friend of mine introduced us...Well, more like a _real_ boyfriend actually, even though we weren't official. He got me this ribbon you know?" Aerith propped her ribbon proudly.

"_Oooh, _is it a guy from school?" Aerith shook her head. "I guess not..."

"He's some sort of brother figure to Cloud. I promised him I wouldn't tell anybody his name because he wasn't supposed to be in Midgar back then but I can tell you that he's also a SOLDIER. I first met him when I was fifteen." She sounded a bit nostalgic.

_Fifteen...That was three years ago... Around the time Zack and I officially became a couple..._

I tore that bit of memory apart before focusing on the conversation at hand.

"...And after that we started meeting each other at random. He'd always call if he comes around though and the most recent is a few days ago." Aerith still gave me that dazzling smile.

"I'm jealous of you Aerith, you have such a nice guy around." I really am.

"Oh I wouldn't say that...About most of the time he'd always talk about this _other _girl...his special person that he left back home... I'm _jealous _of that girl you know? Every time he comes around he'd playfully ask for a date but at the same time kept talking about this _lovely _girl he's lucky to have." Aerith said it a bit bitterly than intended, as she forced a smile on her face.

"Sounds like a jerk to me." I quickly changed my view on him. What kind of guy would ask a girl out and kept complimenting another girl?

"Oh he's not that bad...After all, I kept denying him the chance to go out with me just to get back at him." Aerith winked as I gave her a smile. "Thinking back, I guess I should've at least given him a date or two... Who knows? He might not have run off with another girl if I had and I wouldn't have ended up with Sephiroth proposing my hand in marriage."

"I guess we both sucked in relationships then." I chuckled a bit.

Suddenly, as if remembering something important, Aerith covered her mouth in surprise. "Oh no, we've sidetracked quite a bit from our main topic now haven't we? I'm supposed to be listening to you and not the other way around...I'm so sorry sweetie." She apologized, bowing slightly.

"It's no biggie, I was prying into it anyways." I waved my hand.

"Ah, then I think it might not be too late to give you this advice then..." Aerith stood up and walked to my side. Quite unexpectedly, she suddenly ruffled my hair, the way I used to on Naminé or Ven...It felt good.

"Aerith...?" I looked up and there was that motherly smile again.

"Always listen to your heart sweetie. I know it sounds a bit cheesy but trust me that's the best advice you'll ever get. It might be hard for you to move on from your first love, I know it is but if your heart yearns for another...why not give it what it wants? Again, I guess I should've listen to mine more or I wouldn't be in this predicament myself." She ruffled my hair again and playfully pinched my cheek.

It sounded a bit longwinded but...it makes sense...Yeah, Aerith was right... Maybe, I think... All these while I was chasing Zack's shadow and although I told myself and everyone around me I've already moved on, no one was fooled. Yeah...even I wasn't fooled myself...It was just an excuse so that I wouldn't let another guy into my heart anymore...I was scared...scared of being hurt and left alone again. And I kept thinking of Axel...and then there's another guy that keeps popping into my head...Terra...

"Shouldn't you be more positive about the boys around you then? I know Axel is your close friend but don't you think he might want something more? Or even Terra...He's definitely head over heels for you." Aerith looked at me seriously. Crud, did I just blabbed all my thoughts out loud?

"I'm scared Aerith... I know deep down Axel might have some feelings for me but there's something stopping him from getting closer to me. I liked that myself, and I really like having him close to me as my best friend but... I don't know what I should do because there's still Terra... I didn't really pay much attention to him at first but now...Now he's shaping up to be my kind of guy too..." I shook my head. All this drama is giving me a headache!

I've just confided in a girl (Who happens to be NOT Yuffie for once) that I am in love with two guys. Love...that might be too strong of a word. A _crush_... Yeah, that sounds better...

You might be wondering since when did I have this feeling for Axel right? Well...Let's just say it all started the night we met and things kinda' snowballed from there. Like I said, I'd like to keep him as my best friend, as close as possible without anything serious between us.

I told all this to Aerith and the girl nodded understandingly.

"It's understandable that you don't want to ruin your friendship with Axel sweetie, but perhaps you might not really understand Axel that well..." Aerith drifted off, suddenly looking guilty.

"What does that mean?" I said, slightly offended. What part of my best friend do I not understand? The way he talks, the way he moves, how he finds homework to be garbage, and a lot of other things.

"Don't you think you might want to...know about his past? Or did he already tell you about his past with Terra? And why Axel hated him?" Aerith asked.

I was stumped at that. How could I forget something that serious? They have a history together, and a bitter one at that. I merely let my mouth hung slightly open as I find myself feeling depressed about it. Sensing my dreariness, Aerith quickly comforted me with a hug (A much needed one).

"Don't you think it's time for you to know...?" Aerith whispered quietly into my ear.

I thought about it for awhile. Axel was really bitter about something and that _something _involves Tifa...maybe..._No!_

"...When he's ready to tell me, then I'll listen." I found myself saying, quickly discarding the idea of asking Tifa. "When he trusts me enough, that is. If he cares about me at all, then at that time I'll give my fullest attention to listen to his side of the story." I can't forget about Terra now can I?

"So who will you choose?" Aerith asked. I could see her face was full of curiosity and a bit of excitement.

"Neither for the moment." I answered her truthfully.

"Aww, why not?" Aerith puffed her cheeks, unsatisfied with my answer.

"Because I think of them both as my good friends, a-and actually now that I think about it maybe Axel doesn't think of me in that sort of way. Maybe he just thinks of me as his best friend, that's it. As for Terra...Well, I'll probably end up as just another one of his crushes." I hate myself for lying through my teeth and I could see Aerith was thinking the same thing. Thankfully she didn't pursue the matter as she only sighed.

"Fine, be that way. But you'll have to know sooner or later one of them will finally confess to you, and that time you won't be able to pretend to be unconscious when that happens." Aerith harrumphed.

"When that time comes it'll come I guess." I found myself sighing this time. I hate myself for being a coward but what can I do? I'll just pretend it never happens if the confession ever comes...

"It's tough to juggle two boys at once hmm? That's why you should never play hooky and- ow!" Aerith rubbed her right arm as I playfully pinched it.

* * *

_Axel_

* * *

"So let me get this straight... You guys wanna' join the Angel Wings?" I raised my eyebrows and looked at the three girls incredulously. I'm not judging them or anything but...

"Of course! This is the cheerleading squad right? I'll do whatever I can to make into the first team!" The blonde raised her hand into the air energetically.

_Oh great, another Rinoa... _I shuddered and pushed that memory aside. I observed the trio with interest.

Yuna, the one standing in the middle, had some major makeover in one day. She was no longer sporting her traditional Besaid Island outfit where she was known as a maiden. Now she doesn't even look the part. Her outfit now would be classified as '_too hot to handle_'.

The girl to her left was no more appropriately dressed than her. Sporting a blonde, wild and unkempt hairstyle while dressing in a skimpier outfit looking no less like a bikini. Rikku, was it? The girl bears a startling resemblance to Yuffie, as she too was a hyperactive airhead.

Paine though...well, she still looks the same, except maybe she's sighing a lot more lately.

"So...What did you guys call yourself again?" I asked them, crossing my legs on the table.

Mechanically the three suddenly made a pose and yelled out together "Y.R.P.! We're the Gullwings!"

"_Snort* _Is that your girl scouts' name?" I snorted.

"H-Hey! We thought really hard to come up with that name!" Rikku said indignantly, shaking her fists.

"...I told you guys it sounded childish _sigh*_" Paine shook her head, looking away embarrassedly.

"P-Paine, c'mon! It's a really cool name and you know it!" Rikku sniffed, trying to convince her companion.

"What do you think of this Yuna?" Paine glanced at Yuna, her lips remained curved downwards all the same.

The brown-haired girl seemed surprised to be reeled into the argument. "O-Oh...W-Well I think it's a cute name...and it sounds alike to the Angel Wings too." Yuna looked at Paine apologetically as Rikku skipped around happily, feeling victorious.

"Right then, can I ask you guys something?" I cut in before Paine could retort. The girl huffed and glared at me but she remained silent. "Why'd you guys wanna' join us?"

"Cuz' I wanna' be a really awesome cheerleader like Rinoa! And also I'm trying to find the girl who saved my life the other day!" Rikku said jovially.

"Right. You. Quiet." I waved the airheaded girl off. Rikku's shoulders slumped as she sat in the corner of the room, looking dejected. "You two. Speak."

"Do we really need a reason? After all aren't you looking for people to join your team? We want in on opening this can of whoop-ass!" Paine cracked her knuckles. Yuna nodded her head in agreement as I eyed them interestedly.

_Well...We do need the people but...they're GIRLS! Come on Axel, are you that desperate to put some defenceless chicks into a den of hungry lions? They'll be thorn into pieces! Let's not forget Seymour wants to salivate all over Yuna here, wait till he sees her in this strip-tease of a costume-_

"I know what you're thinking Axel...That we're too weak to do anything right?" Yuna suddenly voiced out my thoughts. Cripes, this girl might be a real ESP like what Tidus said...

"Well, I won't say _anything_... I mean, you girls can still hold off a boxful of kittens right?" Sarcasm was meant in every word.

This time it was Yuna's turn to look at me indignantly. "Well I'll have you know you _male chauvinist _is that I've won a couple of times in blitzball against Tidus. _One on One _even." Yuna pumped her muscle up (Which there was n one to begin with).

"Bet he went easy on you cuz' you're his girlfriend." I snorted, rolling my eyes as I did so. No way is Tidus going to even cause so much as a paper-cut on his precious darling.

"Nope, I was there every time as a spectator...Tidus isn't the type to hold back when it comes to blitzball...and his dad was there too." Paine spoke up for Yuna's behalf.

Now that is what I call concrete evidence. If his dad saw him losing to a chick then there's no way Tidus would live it down. Finally convinced, I called the blonde girl to join up with the other two. The three girls stood in front of me and eyed me anxiously, as if awaiting the green light for a dancing competition.

"...Alright you three are in." I said, against my better judgment but hey, we need the man...I mean, _girl power._

The girls cheered and whooped as they hugged each other, laughing and smiling like, well, _girls_. Rikku was cheering "_We did it! We did it!_" While Yuna was crying...the girl was crying? Never mind...Paine was smiling though, that is something else I guess...

"Make sure you guys are present tomorrow after school alright? I want you to meet the other club members, your _allies _from now on." I pressed that word a little heavier. The three nodded obediently as they made arrangements for tomorrow afternoon.

The three made their way to the door and before they left Yuna turned and; "Thanks Axel...and could you tell Aqua that too?" The girl smiled and finally slid the door close.

Not two seconds later did the door slid open again and in came the twins, Roxas and Ventus. Their faces were bright red (Guess they met with Rikku) and Roxas was sporting a light nosebleed.

I chuckled as the two said hello and one of them (I don't know which one) propped himself on the hammock while the other sat next to me.

"Where's Aqua?" Rox/Ven asked (The one sitting next to me).

"She has her part-time job today, so which one are you...?" I drawled, looking at the closer twin with curiosity.

"I'm Ven." He said, half-annoyed half-relieved. "Thank goodness...I thought she might be standing in front of the school gates again waiting for-"

"Ven!" Roxas suddenly interjected, suddenly looking quite alarmed.

Ven slapped his hands on his mouth as his blue eyes widened in horror. That was enough to pique my curiosity even more.

"And why...was she doing that?" I stared at the frightened looking boy. He tried to stand up but I grabbed his sleeve and made him to sit down. "Well...?" I drew my face closer to his.

Ven looked at me with the same terrified expression and shifted his glance to Roxas, who was looking quite distraught and not knowing what to do, and then back to me.

"Ven~" I began dangerously. "You don't want me to tell the whole world about a certain girl you happen to have a crush on now do you?"

If possible, Ven's eyes grew even wider with fear. "_You wouldn't_." His voice was low, barely a whisper.

"_I would_." I hissed lowly.

"Ven, don't give in. It's obviously a trick, he wouldn't-"

"She was waiting for her ex-boyfriend to come out!" Ven blurted quickly. In the corner of my eyes I could see Roxas face-palming himself and muttering "_You just dug your own grave...Aqua and XIon are gonna' kill you..._" while Ven banged his head on the table several times while chanting "_I'm dead, I'm dead..._".

I, however, was feeling quite interested in what Aqua was doing. Why didn't she tell me anything? I felt slightly annoyed at being left out from my so-called best friend's motives... I flipped open my cell phone and speed-dialled my so-called best friend's number. It rung a few times before going into voice-mail. Annoyed, I tried again and I was still greeted by the irritating, monotonous female voice on the other end of the line.

"Damn it..." I cursed and slammed my phone close. Now I feel angry. Why am I angry? I shouldn't feel like this, after all it's really not my business what that girl is doing or whose pants she's chasing. I felt myself becoming more depressed after that last thought.

_So she's still not over that guy huh? Whoever he is...that SOLDIER bastard..._

I sat there quietly while entertaining my own musings, pondering on what to do next. Suddenly feeling the urge to meet that blue-haired girl, I packed up my stuff and quickly exited the room, leaving the twins with their own problems.

_She should still be in that cafe of hers..._

* * *

_Aqua_

* * *

I wasn't expecting this, and suddenly I wished that Aerith had stayed a few minutes longer. Staring at me with the most perplexed and goofy (actually he looked kinda' cute) expression was Terra (Guy version).

I noticed _someone _was lingering outside the cafe for quite a time but I wouldn't believe it was him. Not until somebody apparently dropped a banana peel and the guy slipped on it (Just like in the cartoons). So here I was, squatting in front of the upside-down boy while holding that very same banana peel from his face.

Terra was blushing, and it took me almost a minute to realize why. Feeling my cheeks burn with embarrassment, I quickly stood up and pulled on the mini-skirt of a uniform I was wearing and stared at him apprehensively.

"You didn't see...?"

* * *

_Terra_

* * *

Oh great Terra, mess up even more will you? It was bad enough you followed her all the way to work from school and it was even worse when you stood across the street, waiting for her to finish her conversation with Aerith, and finally _this_. God I feel stupid right now...

I wasn't even sure I wanted to get up though...I mean, this angle is quite excellent if I have to say so myself...

"Pervert." The blue-haired girl mumbled, covering her lower body part cautiously.

"Wha-? No I'm not!" I argued, still lying on the floor.

If possible her eyes grew even narrower as she huffed and glare at me.

"Fine...Maybe I was trying to steal a peek..." Why did I say that? Can't you see you're making her even more embarrassed Terra? Look, she's even growing redder now! I silently curse my own stupidity as the girl looked at me unsurely. _Bet she's gonna' call the cops, run now Terra! While you still have the chance!_

However, to my surprise she suddenly bent down again and extended a helping hand. "Come on... Get up or people here are gonna' think you're really a pervert or something..." She mumbled, her face still red.

Glad that she didn't run away (or scream), I took her hand and stood up. Well, I could've done that alone but at least I got a chance to hold her hand _he he_...

"What's with that gross face? Ew, don't go thinking lewd stuffs now!" Aqua stuck out her tongue playfully as she made a sound of disgust.

"I'm not." I smiled at her. A wave of relief washed over me as I observed the girl from top to bottom. _No extra bruises, no cuts, no black eyes at least..._

Noticing that we're still holding hands, the blue-haired maid quickly let go and looked down with embarrassment. I felt myself grew redder myself when she did that. _God why is she so cute?_

We stood there in silence as the townspeople gave us odd looks. I was wearing my basketball jacket and she in her maid outfit. Not your usual high school love drama now is it? I hope it is...

"So...how are you?" I asked her, finally breaking the silence between us.

The girl tilted her head upwards, making me blush from her confused gaze. She quickly averted her gaze when our eyes locked onto each other, the redness still haven't disappear from her cheeks.

"I'm...fine. How about you?" She asked quietly as I noticed her hands were playing with the hems of her skirt.

"I'm fit as a horse as you can see ha ha!" Okay, lame attempt of a joke...just die Terra... but I was glad all the same when she giggled, a smile finally appearing on her delicate face.

"Still crazy about basketball are you?" Her eyes fall upon my jacket and of course the basketball I brought which had rolled down the street (I'll pick that up later).

"You know it." I grinned. It's odd that she'd ask me that question, considering we had been on a date a couple of days ago. Yeah...before all that nastiness happens...

Aqua seemed to have remembered that moment as well, as she looked away dejectedly. I felt angry all of a sudden, not at the girl as she was the victim, but on the perpetrator of her misery. Seeing her hug herself now, as if repressing that bad memory, I felt a need to hug her tightly and shield her from any more suffering. No...The best I could do is...

"So...are you still going through with this?" I found myself asking. She doesn't have to do this right? I mean, it's not like she'll have to fight alone, there are other people who'd take that post. Axel, or even Fang...anyone but her!

However, to my surprise, Aqua's eyes flared with anger. The girl was frowning and she took a step back away from me.

"Of course I am, I'm the representative of the outcasts after all." She huffed, crossing her arms together.

Oh boy... "But you don't have to do this you know? The President's fight...you can just give that spot to Axel! You...You can just go out there and enjoy the Sports' Festival like any normal student!" I desperately tried to dissuade her.

Surprisingly, Aqua laughed. A dry, humourless laugh that made my skin crawl. It sounded bitter, and angry even.

"_Any normal student_? If you don't know it yet Terra the whole school already considered me a _freak_. Even if I give up now do you think they, the jocks, would stop bullying me? Or the others for that matter?" She sounded really angry, I mean, _really really angry_.

"It wasn't your fight to begin with." Again, why did I say that? I know it's just going to make her even madder.

It did. Aqua looked quite shocked as if she was rudely insulted and intensified her glare (Don't look at me like that, please!).

"_You _wouldn't understand! You've had it easy, all this while playing the hero while your fellow schoolmates, non-athletes, were suffering right under your nose! Sure you helped out every now and then, but you're obviously blind to their pleas Terra! They don't need an idol to worship, they need a saviour to free them!" She hissed.

I was slightly annoyed at that comment. "I didn't ask them to worship me! And you, why are you taking that spot up? Nobody actually asked you to save them! Know your limits Aqua, a girl like you can't go up against Xemnas. He's too evil, too powerful for someone like you!" I need to control myself, why am I hurting her? Look, she's backing away even more now!

"You don't understand...you don't understand _at all_. How it feels like to be at the bottom of the food chain." She sobbed. God, I made her cry. "Even if he's a scary guy, there's no one else who'd go against him... I have to try, I have to do all I can to help my friends..." The girl covered her face, sobbing as I stood there, feeling even more depressed at my own stupidity yet again.

"Aqua...I'm sorry..." I drew closer to her, my arm extended and my hand lightly touched her bare shoulder. She shuddered from my touch but did not push me away. Slowly, I pulled her into my embrace.

The girl looked up; serene blue eyes gazed into my eyes. The feeling to protect her grew even stronger as she touched my chest, burying her face into it. I wasn't sure what to do as I let her calm herself.

Townspeople were whispering now, muttering. I even heard them saying "_In broad daylight...kids these days..._"

Aqua must have heard it too, but she paid neither heed nor attention to them. "...Sorry..." She mumbled.

"For what?" I looked at her inquisitively.

The girl shook her head and looked up. "For venting out on you...sort of...I guess stress took over me and I couldn't think straight..."

Oh, it's alright, I mean, I'm the one who kept blundering on with my words and- "It's alright, I was acting like an ass anyways." I said, smiling at the girl.

"...Yes you were." She croaked, her voice slightly shaky but her smile was a real relief to see at the same time.

I thought about the Sports Festival, and also when we have to face each other. _Us_, _becoming enemies..._ I shoved that thought away, all that matters is that we reach an understanding now. That I actually am on her side, that I will do the best I can to make sure Xemnas' rule doesn't stand.

Before I could say all that however, suddenly the back of my head was hit with something round and bouncy. Surprised, I quickly turn around to the perpetrator.

"Yo, you look like you're having fun there."

It was Axel. He was carrying a smug smirk but his eyes betrayed his cool demeanour. I could see the annoyance in his face, and it's obvious that he was pissed about something. That round thing he threw at me? Yeah, that was my basketball. He was bouncing it as I stared back at him.

"Axel." I said shortly, obviously I'm not all that happy to be interrupted.

"Axel?" Aqua suddenly looked past me. The girl's eyes grew wider with surprise at the sight of the redhead. To my annoyance the girl quickly trotted towards the porcupine-head like a faithful puppy.

Annoyance? Was that all I feel? I mean, they're best friends after all right so it's normal if they're close to each other. Tifa and I are best friends too, so we're usually like that. No, wait a minute...Something's off here... You don't go throwing basketballs at peoples head just for hugging your best friend (Even if it's a guy you dislike). The most common action would be to walk away or watch from afar, not to get involved.

I watched Axel for a moment before the reality hit me. Tifa always told me that I'm quiet slow when it comes to getting to know people, but what if it was _my _best friend from way back? What if I have years of experience from knowing that guy's behaviour? What ticks him off, what makes him sick or better yet; _when he's in love?_

From the pit of my stomach I felt something drop. My (ex) best friend is in love with the girl whom _I'm _in love with. I just know it. Who's he fooling? Just look at the way he laughs when she made that stupid joke. Better yet, look at the way _she _laughs when he made a stupid joke...No, I gotta' do something about this...I'm sorry Axel but I'm not letting her go...not for anyone, not even for you.

* * *

_Aqua_

* * *

"So you're saying, this _Rikku _thought we're the cheerleading team and she joined us?" I bit back the desire to laugh again. True it might not be a good thing for her to misinterpret but the way Axel described her is like he was talking about Yuffie.

"Yup, you can blame Paine and Yuna for that. They even named themselves the 'Dullwings' or something like it to join us." I'm sure Axel got that name wrong, I'll have to ask Yuna later for their real name...

"I see...so was that it?" I smiled at the taller boy.

Axel made a confused face as he scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Was what it?" He repeated.

"Did you come all the way here just to tell me that? I mean, you were planning about our action plan in the clubroom just now right? You came a long way off for something like this though..." I trailed off.

"Oh? Is there something wrong with what I say?" Axel smirked.

"No...It's just not like you to do something like this. Usually you'd tell me at the last minute." Hah! Take that you devilish porcupine!

To my surprise, Axel suddenly looked flustered. "W-Well y'know, you weren't picking up your phone so I thought something mighta' happened...I can see something did." Axel suddenly frowned, looking right past me.

I turned to see Terra standing directly behind me, his eyes staring intently into Axel's. The two males went into a staring competition and neither was willing to back off. Me? I'm caught in between them of course.

"...Got something to say muscle-head?" Oh dear, he picked a fight right off the bat...

Terra merely looked at him, his steady gaze shifted from the redhead and then to me.

"...Isn't it you who has something to tell me?" Again, Terra's eyes flickered towards me.

The two seemed to be having some sort of psychic connection as Axel's face hardened and his arms gripped my shoulders.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Axel said indifferently. Oh I think you do, or else you wouldn't be crunching my shoulder blades right now...

"A-Axel." It was painful and I had to get his attention or else he might just break my bone. The redhead seemed to have snapped back to reality as he softened his grip.

"Sorry..." He mumbled, rubbing my shoulders gently. In the corner of my eyes I caught a flicker of frustration from Terra but when I turned to look at him his face was as it was.

The two resumed their staring battle and it was beginning to _annoy _me. Honestly if these two boys have nothing better to do I might as well go back to work. I made to stand aside but suddenly I felt two different hands holding onto me. Terra was holding onto my hand while Axel was gripping my waist.

"Guys..." I sighed. What is wrong with them? Suddenly I remembered my little conversation with Aerith just a few moments ago. _God it couldn't be happening now could it? I-I mean they won't seriously confess to me at the same time now would they? I meant that as a joke! Seriously, I'm not that vain to think that two guys would want me in that sort of way-_

"Let go of her." I heard Terra say.

"Uh-uh, no can do. She's my toy." That was definitely from Axel.

"Boys..." I mumbled, slightly embarrassed now that we're causing a scene in the middle of the road.

"I have something to say to her." Terra pulled on me slightly harder. _Oh dear..._

"Oh? What might that be Mr. Popularity?" Axel pulled on me this time.

"Boys come on..."

"It's none of your concern, it's only between me and her."

"If you have something to say to her then you can say it straight to my face, after all she's _mine_."

"Boys, snap out of it, yoo-hoo~"

"No she's not, and the way you said it makes me think _you're _the one who has a crush on her."

"Who, me? Why would I have a crush on her? And you just admitted you like her. LOL."

Right at this point I find myself giving up since it was pretty much already useless to stop them. The familiar feeling of being a piece of meat between two dogs came back as I sighed and let the two go all out with their little squabble. Axel was doing a good job at riling up Terra.

"_Yeah, I do like her_."

"..."

Did I just hear that right?

Suddenly I was spinning around and come to face Terra. The boy was looking at me with a meaningful stare.

"I like you." He repeated, both his hands on my shoulders.

"Uh..." My face was absolutely red with embarrassment.

"I really do like you, from the bottom of my heart. You can say it's just a crush or whatever but please accept the fact that I am falling head over heels for you." Terra's grip tightened as he confessed. The mood was right, even the passerby's seemed miniscule and fade into the background as all my eyes could see was the Herculean boy right in front of me.

I was lost at words to say to him when I heard Axel say;

"No."

I was surprised though at his reaction. I thought he might have laughed at it, like he usually does whenever Terra and I were caught in this kind of situation. The usual calm and smug expression was not seen and was replaced with a conflicted and confused one. I have never seen Axel lose his cool before.

Without a word Axel suddenly pulled me away from Terra and before I know what's going on we had started running. Destination? Unknown. I have no idea where he's taking me as we slipped through the crowd and very soon the town's square faded from sight. The townspeople must have found it peculiar, a boy wearing a school uniform and a girl wearing a maid outfit holding hands and running on the street.

"_Axel, where are we going?_" I yelled, but received no answer from the boy as he merely grunted as we ran further still.

I got a sense of déjà vu since Terra had done something similar back during the Destiny Isle's Fair. _Boys...What's with them and running aimlessly?_

Finally, after much running, we stopped at the beach. _Go figure, this is the only place that's empty around this time... _It was a little after four in the evening so I doubt there would be any sane person out in the scorching heat (Other than us).

Axel was panting, I was panting _heavily_. I said this countless times; _I am not a sports person! Give me chess, or monopoly, or even snakes and ladders but not physical sports! Well, I did some cheerleading back then but this is the present!_

"Axel, what's wrong with you-" Before I could even finish my words Axel had pulled me in for a tight hug. This is the second time today a guy had randomly pulled me into their arms...

I could smell the strong scent of sweat and a certain smell of cigarette as the two smells blended together from his body. He was hugging me tightly, as if afraid I might disappear. Unconsciously I hugged him back, as gently as I could.

"...What's wrong...?" I know he must have a reason for pulling this stunt. I stroke the back of his hair gently as the taller male panted.

Axel shook his head as he rested his chin on top of my head. Despite being drenched in his sweat I continued hugging him, I know he needed it now...for whatever reasons I don't know.

"I don't want to lose you." Finally he said. "I don't want to lose you." He repeated, and pushed me away slightly so that he could see my face.

"Axel...could you possibly be jealous at what Terra had said just now?" I felt it was a bit odd, but somehow I could be right...

The redhead didn't answer as his acid green eyes bore into mine.

"Sweetie...You know I won't ever ditch you right? Even if he did confess and somehow be my boyfriend you'll still be my frien-"

"Don't. Say. That. Word." Axel suddenly placed a finger on my lips.

I frowned at the boy. Which word? Friend? What's so wrong about that word? Aren't we best friends? I don't understand this at all.

"Axel..."

Before I could say anything though I felt something push against my lips, silencing me. Something soft and squishy as Axel's face was less than centimetre away from my face. Under the hot sun, in the middle of my part time job, this boy had kidnapped me when another boy confessed to me, and had made a very bold attempt.

I was kissed by Axel.

* * *

_Shorties Smarties #4 – The making of the Gullwings is actually harder than anyone thought_

(From chapter XIII*) That very evening, after school, three normal looking (If you can widen your common sense to accept talking bacteria as normal) high school girls were sitting in a cafe, drinking tea and doing usual, normal high school girls' activity; _Gossiping. _

But no, that is too easy to interpret as Yuna, Rikku, and Paine are not your average, normal high school girls. Having just met a couple of hours ago, Yuna was surprised to find out that Rikku was her cousin.

The blond girl had produced evidences though, as she brought out family albums and even showed their family tree, which made Yuna ecstatic to know that she has an Al Bhed (A race, if you must know) for a cousin.

Squealing and hugging each other like they were some sort of lost-but-finally-reunited-family-members, it brought a sigh and a shake of the head from Paine.

"If you guys are done with giggling and all that, can we get to business now?" Paine, being the serious one, wanted to finish their matter at hand now.

"Oh don't be such a sourpuss Pinny. Look, Yunie and I are having fun!" Rikku, the hyperactive one, laughed and jumped around.

"_Pinny_?" Paine's left eye twitched as she gripped her fencing blade slightly harder under the table.

"Now, now...So what was it we came to do again?" Yuna, the sensible one (Although not so sensible now), asked gently.

"Ugh, we came here to form a name for our-..._cheerleading squad_. I mean, we have to have one right?" Paine said delicately, her grip lessened slightly.

Rikku stopped jumping around and eyed Paine happily. "Yup yup! That's right! Even in Spira High we have names for all sort of branches of our cheerleading squad! So...What do you have in mind?"

"I dunno'...what kind of names can you think of?" Paine shrugged as she took a sip from her coffee.

Yuna and Rikku put their heads together as they scratched, and pulled their hair for a name.

"How about...the _Dancing Unicorns_?" Rikku slammed her fist on the table, making it rattle horribly.

"Pass. Next." Again, Paine's left eye twitched and her grip became harder once again.

"The _Raging Bulldogs_?" Yuna said innocently.

"I don't want us to be associated with mutts. Next." Paine waved her off to.

"The _Colourful Leprechauns?" _Rikku suggested playfully.

"Are you taking this seriously? And why _leprechauns_?" Paine hissed, making Rikku whine and took shelter behind Yuna.

"O-Oh, how about the _Parrot Brigade_?" Yuna suggested fearfully, hoping not to earn a hiss from Yuna like Rikku had.

"Hmm, not quite there yet...does it have to be two words?" Thankfully Paine didn't seem to think the name was stupid.

Yuna let out a sigh of relief. "I don't think so...But how about if we make one name and put _'the' _in front of it?"

"Ooh, that's a good one Yunie! So...What'll it be?" Rikku popped her head out from behind Yuna.

The three once again put their heads together, thinking of a splendid name to call themselves.

"It has to be something close to an Angel...or wings...since their name is the Angel Wings. The cheerleading squad's name, I mean." Paine added quickly, seeing the curious face of Rikku.

"Then how about the _Birdwings_?" Rikku shouted, this time earning a few glares from the other customers.

"How about you stay quiet this time _birdbrain_?" Paine hissed again.

Rikku retreated to the safety of Yuna's back and quietly sat there, playing with Yuna's hair now instead of joining the name-planning.

"Birds...Then how about the _Parawings_? You know, from parrots?" Yuna snapped her fingers.

"Does it have to be a bird?" Paine sighed as Yuna dropped her head dejectedly.

"Well all you do is put down our ideas, why don't you think of something?" Rikku said, clearly annoyed from the little cooperation she's receiving from the brunette.

Paine stared at her for awhile and seemed to be thinking of something when; "...How about...the _Glitterwings_?"

"..."

"..."

It seemed that the whole cafe had gone deathly quiet. The other customers seemed to have been eavesdropping on their conversation and all of them were looking quite stunned.

"...Just forget I said anything..." Paine said as she covered her face in embarrassment.

"That's okay Pinny, at least that was a cute name..." Rikku consoled the girl while patting her back.

"Yeah, you did your best." Yuna offered her comfort as well.

"Don't you worry a thing Pinny, we'll stay here till morning if we have to! We'll find a name that'll fit us _glittergirls _if that's the last thing we'll do!" Rikku shouted as the other customers had already covered their ears expectedly.

Paine stared at the blonde in disbelief and to the brown-haired girl who was agreeing with her.

_A few hours later, after the cafe has closed down_

"So how about the _Duckwings_?" Rikku offered.

"Or the _Pigeonwings_?" Yuna added.

"Kingdom Hearts why don't you give us a name!" Paine exclaimed, fearing for her sanity as she looked at the empty surrounding. They must have been left here and Lulu must have locked them inside.

"Shush Pinny, we're getting there!" Rikku said seriously as the girl looked close to cracking up herself.

"Why oh why is coming up with a name this damn hard?" Paine groaned as she banged her head on the table several times.

"So...the _Peacockwings_?" Yuna tiredly added.

Just another normal evening for the (to-be) Angels folks.


	15. CHAPTER XV: Things Change Part 3

Ya-haw! Been a while people! Friends, readers and etc. XD I apologize for the long while, I was busy with the usual university stuffs and guess what? I'm starting language lessons! Well, I'm the student though and I had to choose one foreign language to learn! Nyways' I got a lot of reviews and PMs from you guys saying your votes going for AxelxAqua, aha! Well I do admit they're a favourite in this story...but there's more to work on right! Anyways, putting aside the big battle, a lot of random dramas are going on and such is the center of the story no?

Big thanks and special words out to - AquaStormXIV, ..L1ght, Riku Uzumaki, Fullmetal Pianist, Sierra, Elemental Queen, just2awesome, Alice Barden, fujingodofwind, Katfreak, XHollow18, I adore this story, OrganizationsNumberXIII aaaaaaannnndddd LittleKeybladeNinja!

Thank you all sooo much for remaining loyal to this story! It makes my heart swell with joy that there are people that enjoy this story ;) Do R&R when you guys have the time, and again, thankies! Now without further ado, the 15th chappieeee~ Ya-haw!

* * *

CHAPTER XV: Things Change (Part 3)

* * *

_Aqua_

* * *

A kiss. I remember I used to get one from Zack quite a lot. They were warm and made me feel all tingly and giddy on the inside, but those were all on the cheeks. Now that I think about it, I've gone out with Zack for over a year and we've never really done what other couples usually do. My first kiss...was stolen by my own best friend.

It felt like eternity, the warm hot sensation of his lips pushing against mine. I backed away but Axel clenched onto the back of my head and grabbed a fistful of my hair to stop me from running away. His other hand was holding onto my shoulder, securing me from falling down (Which I'm feeling I'm about to right now).

I tried pushing him away but he was rooted to the spot, stubborn till the end. My brain exploded with weird signals and I know this is wrong...Axel...Axel is my _best friend_. Even if I have a crush on the guy doing something like this is...is..._wrong_.

I thumped on his chest a few times and opened my eyes. He was staring straight into mine, his acid green watching me with fervour. Seeing him like this for the first time frightened me. This is not Axel. He was like a hungry beast and I'm definitely the helpless prey.

I withdrew yet again but he clenched onto my hair and shoulder forcefully, bringing a familiar sensation of pain to the said areas. I was still staring into his eyes as our lips were still locked, begging him to stop, but he continued on and brought me closer to his body.

All my breath seemed to be sucked into his mouth as he had pried my mouth open and was busy exploring it with his tongue. I moaned a little as he grabbed my tongue with his and began playing with it, up and down and left and right.

_Enough...Enough...Enough...Axel...Please..._

Finally it was over. He let go of me as I dropped to the sandy beach, panting.

I looked down as I inhaled and exhaled heavily, my finger trailing my lips haphazardly as I was shaking like mad. _My first kiss..._no, a first kiss shouldn't be like this...I remembered reading in fairy tales and watching those cheesy, romantic movies about how first kisses are sweet and wonderful and all rainbows and roses...No, this is definitely not the sensation I'm feeling now...

"_You're a jerk._" I bit my bottom lip as tears silently trailed down my face. I was facing the opposite side as I didn't want to look at the jerk. _How could he? H-How could he do this to me?_

"Not like you've never done it before." Axel snorted.

_Did he just...? _I snapped my head towards him, eyeing him angrily. "For your information I've _never _done it before. This was my...It was my precious first kiss..." I trailed off as the sadness and feeling of loss overcame me.

Axel looked surprised. No, scratch that, he looked absolutely _petrified_. "Aqua I..."

"_Stay away from me._" I hissed, standing up and backing away from him.

"Aqua I didn't know." Axel pleaded, suddenly looking confused. _Why are you confused? I'm the one who's confused right now!_

"_Don't talk to me. Don't come near me. Don't you even dare touch me again do you hear me?_" I said vehemently. The tears were still strolling down but my anger won against my sorrow.

I trusted him. I trusted Axel. He was my best friend, no, more than that. He was someone I could confide in, someone whom I believe despite everything, even if the whole school is out to get me, would still provide me with a safe sanctuary, someone who would protect me. Now I was violated by the very person I put my whole trust on...what irony...

"L-Look I didn't know what came over me alright? S-So..." Axel made to come nearer but I instinctively moved back.

"Sorry is not gonna' cut it." I glared at him sharply.

"I know okay? I know...I'll take responsibility, I'll-"

How was Axel going to take responsibility I would never ever know as in just a second or two I felt what seemed to be a bulldozer ran past me and tackled the redhead hard in the middle. Two bodies crashed in the middle of the beach as the two rolled and punched each other endlessly (Axel out of instinct).

I stood there, paralyzed with shock as I recognized the assailant.

"Oh my goodness!"

I turned to see Aerith, looking dishevelled and braids askew. She was panting and looking at me in horror.

"I'm sorry Aqua I tried to stop him! H-He wouldn't listen!" Aerith apologized, sounding close to tears herself.

"Aerith...How- What-" I looked at her and then to the two fighting males and back to her again, getting more and more confused at the scenario laid out to me.

"I'm really sorry! I-I turned back after I left the cafe because I forgot my camera a-and I couldn't help overhearing you three and-and _Terra_! Oh goodness he, well, he _followed _you two and I followed him and we, well, we _saw _and _heard _the whole thing." Aerith panted again and I spared her a few seconds to gather enough oxygen to continue.

"I-I tried to stop him! I did! But the minute he heard that it was your _first kiss_...he went _berserk_! Oh dear, oh dear I should've hold onto him more tightly!" This was my first time seeing her panic, and believe you me it is _sooo _not the right time for Aerith to be panicked! If she, the most level-headed and sensible woman in the group, panics, then what am I supposed to do?

Actually there is only one thing I can do.

"_Axel! Terra! _Both of you snap out of it!" I yelled and lunged at the two rolling boys.

Separating them took quite an effort. I had to squeeze between them (while they're rolling) and while Aerith managed to hold back Axel, it took every ounce of my meagre strength to push Terra away from the frontline.

"_Down. Boy._" I growled through gritted teeth. I have had enough of stupidity for one day thank you very much!

Terra obeyed grudgingly but not without making growling noises himself. He was still eyeing Axel with pure loathing and I do not need to see Axel to know that he was giving Terra the exact same look.

"_Bastard._" Terra mumbled as I led him to sit down under a paopu tree.

"What's gotten into you?" I sighed as I sat next to him. In the corner of my eye I saw Aerith leading Axel away. Although my common sense is telling me that the two of them need to settle this face-to-face somehow...I don't want to see Axel for the while. I still feel resented over his action and what he had apparently taken away from me can never be taken back.

Terra merely grunted and I slapped him lightly on the back of his head.

"You're acting like a kid." I sighed again.

"How can you be so calm?" He suddenly snapped, looking at me angrily.

"Calm...?" I repeated, frowning at his question.

"Yeah, one minute you were all hysterical and the next you're lecturing me on how to act mature. Are you really that ignorant of your own self?" I know Terra wanted to say more, but instead he swallowed his words and chose not to say more.

"Are you calling me dense?" I glared at him. He doesn't need to answer that question; I could practically see the answer on his face. "How dare you-?"

"What I'm saying is that why are you keeping things bottled up? Your feelings...I don't get it. Why do you put up such a strong front in front of everybody when I know, _you know_, that you're screaming on the inside?" Terra spoke with a clear voice. Right then I knew that his anger was not misplaced.

I opened my mouth slightly to answer him but nothing came out. I felt slightly surprised at his comment, I mean, the guy just went and made one _helluva' _statement. Me? Keeping things bottled up? The only thing I've ever bottled up is mineral water, and although I know that was a lame joke I couldn't help making one.

"You're letting others use you too much." He said, exasperated. "And for all I know you're not giving yourself a break _which _I think you deserve once in a while."

"You don't know me." I said sharply, turning away. As much as I hated it, Terra was right. Still, it was annoying to hear _him _lecture _me_.

"Then help me to get to know you. I want to get closer to you, to understand you...so please Aqua." He pushed me slightly from the side.

I merely frowned as the boy continued to nudge me. Not only did Axel kiss me, now Terra's suddenly matured and became all philosophical on me. I've had enough for one day thank you very much!

Suddenly Terra stood up. I turned to look at him as he swiped away the sands on his trousers and stretched his muscles (They _are _well-toned).

"You're leaving?" I said, sounding a bit disappointed.

"Don't want to nag on you too much." He winked. "Besides...If I stay then the glaring is just gonna' intensify..." Terra nudged his head towards the spot where Aerith and Axel were.

I noticed Axel had been glaring at the other boy for awhile now. Terra sighed and ruffled his hair. "I acted like an idiot. Now he's sure to hate me more."

"You _are _an idiot." I agreed with him.

"Hey now, cut me some slack! How am I supposed to react when my (ex) best-friend stole my crush's first kiss?" Terra said lightly but I knew he was still bummed about what happened.

The mention of the kiss made me shudder but I waved the boy goodbye anyway.

"Just...Don't go berserk again okay?" I said hesitantly as I stood up.

"I'm not making any promises- kidding, _kidding_!" He laughed as I punched his shoulder several times.

"It wasn't funny..." I mumbled darkly, seeing the intensity on Axel's face from afar intensified (get it?).

"Well I'm gonna' head off now...more basketball practice you know?" Terra shrugged as he walked away, not before turning his head to look at me for one last time; "No hickeys alright?"

_That. Boy. Is. Dead. _I thought to myself as I hurled seashells at the laughing/running boy, my face red with embarrassment. After making sure he was out of sight, I braced myself mentally for the next hurdle.

_Axel._

The boy was still looking at me pensively, as if eyeing me thoroughly. I reprised the sense to shudder at the thought seeing how he always harasses me everyday anyways. However I know that those eyes meant something else...something far more sinister.

I walked towards him and Aerith turned to look at me. She gave me a look of concern to which I responded with a smile (I'm pretty sure it's strained though). Aerith gave me a worried look and made a haughty one at Axel before giving us some much needed privacy.

A few minutes of silence befell us as I shifted uneasily in front of the redhead (my eyes kept looking at the huge rock next to me in case I need to duck for cover).

The boy kept opening his mouth and then shutting them close, as if changing his mind every few seconds on what to say. Finally he let out a groan and ruffled his hair.

"I'm not good at this shit..." He mumbled.

"What?" I asked curiously, looking at him (from a safe distance).

"Y'know...apologizing." Axel scratched his head even harder.

"Have you done something you need to apologize for?" I continued, humouring the boy.

"Don't give me that mind crap...A minute ago you were screaming '_don't talk to me_' and all that jazz." Axel crossed his arms.

"I'm not pulling anything. It's just that once I've calmed down I start to think things rationally...and less evilly..." I mumbled the last part quietly.

"Well don't. I prefer you yelling at me." Axel said, annoyed.

"You're not a masochist are you?" I raised an eyebrow at him, grinning.

"Hell no! Don't lump me in with those freaks! Why I-"

I giggled at his reaction. Good, this is the old Axel that I know. Before I could even say that to him however the boy had suddenly hugged me.

"Axel...If you keep this up I might have to get a restraining order against you..." I mumbled uncomfortably as the boy hugged me still.

"I don't care." Axel mumbled against my ear, embracing me even tighter.

"_Sigh* _Seriously you'd risk our friendship for a stupid stunt like this?" I sighed, shaking my head as I repressed the urge to hug him back.

_Stay calm...don't let it get to you, those are just the hormones kicking in girl. They're playing tricks on you, don't let it fool you- _

"I want you." He mumbled softly.

Suddenly I found myself hugging him back, closing my eyes and tip-toeing as I did so._ I hate Axel. I hate his guts for stealing my first kiss. Yet..._ I shook my head.

"Sweetie...I'm not the right girl for you. I'm...I'm broken." Mentally I am. I am still not over Zack and my confusion and stalling led to this event. I guess all the girls in the world can hate me and scream 'Man-stealer!' in my face. I hope I conveyed that to Axel but counting my luck...not so well.

"No you're not. You're _perfect_." Axel said fiercely, his eyes locking into mine.

I shook my head again and slowly pull away from him. "You don't understand...I _do_. I can't break away from this chain binding me to _him_, not ever... Not when I haven't finish things off with _him_ yet." I looked away sadly. I know Axel must be confused by my statement but I turned around and began walking away.

"Where are you going? We're not finish talking!" Axel grabbed my arm, an angry look on his face.

"I'm sorry sweetie...Please, _please _let me go...I have a lot on my mind right now and I don't want to end up hating you so..._please_." I pleaded, close to tears again as I looked straight into his eyes, begging for him to understand.

Eventually Axel did but not before giving me a hurtful look and saying; "So you'd rather be with Terra huh?"

I shook my head again and walked away as quickly as I can, Aerith following closely as I left Axel to deal with his own pain...and the tears poured out once again.

This is a really bad day for me...

* * *

_In the dorm, that night_

Pain, is what I felt, when I was betrayed by dear friend.

Anger, is what I felt, when he felt no remorse for his action.

Fear, is what I felt, when his eyes contained hunger and obsession for me.

Love, is what I felt, when he embraced me and said he wanted me.

Illusion, is what I see, in yearning for three men at once.

In the end, I am no saner than I was before.

I lay down on my bed and hugged my pillow tightly as I tried to forget today's event. _Why? Why did everything have to change today? _I know I'm acting silly again. It was just a kiss. _A freaking kiss! It was one thing if he had raped me but just a miniscule kiss! God why am I acting like such a girl all of a sudden!_

I hit my head on the mattress several times for my stupidity. I led Axel on, and I'm pretty sure I led Terra on, and the boy still loved me...I feel so dirty. I felt like I'm playing with these sincere boys' hearts. It's happening again...Oh no...

"_Aqua?_"

I heard a soft knock and soon Naminé opened the door, her head peering inside the room carefully. I heard her soft footsteps approaching me but I buried my face in my pillow, not wanting to show my blotchy face.

"Um, are you alright...?" The girl asked quietly as she sat at the corner of my bed. "Is something the matter?"

"_I don't wanna' talk about it_." I said in a muffled voice, still not looking at her.

"Oh don't be like that... You have a guest y'know?" Naminé rubbed my leg gently.

"Who?" I quickly turned to look at the door. Aerith was still here of course, the girl had offered to sleep here to comfort me but the other person was-

"Uh... Need time to put on your make-up?"

I rolled my eyes but couldn't help but smile at the chocobo head shifting awkwardly in front of me.

"Come in Cloud." I invited him in.

The boy was still standing in front of the door, not coming in. He was looking really uncomfortable and kept ruffling his hair.

"Yeah, uh, how about you, uh, _wear _something first and I'll, uh, wait for you in the kitchen." Cloud's face was beet red when he said that and he hurriedly left.

I looked downwards and noticed my rather revealing nightdress and could not help but feel embarrassed myself. I totally forgot my appearance after living with only girls for awhile (Nami often forgot to dress up in the wee hours of the morning and Tifa in her daring negligee).

After making sure I wore my _proper _nightgown I went downstairs to meet the boy. Cloud was sitting in the kitchen alone, looking around interestedly. When I came in he motioned for me to sit across him, to which I obliged. I noticed two mugs and a pot of freshly brewed coffee were on top of the table, probably set by the boy while waiting for me.

The blonde studied me for awhile before nodding something in affirmation.

"I hate it when you do that." I rolled my eyes, sighing as the boy looked confused.

"Do what?"

"_That._" I pointed at his face. "Your habit of sizing me up, it makes me feel kinda'..._apprehended_." I shivered.

"You didn't do anything wrong." He frowned.

I sighed as I poured some warm coffee into our mugs. "Regardless, I still feel like I'm being interrogated by you."

"Understood, I won't do that again in the future if it makes you uncomfortable then." Cloud nodded and thanked me as I handed the mug to him.

"So what's up?" I quickly asked as I took a sip. I made a face of disgust as I tasted the bitterness of the black liquid. _Ugh, guess he's one of those guys that likes his coffee black._

My judgement seemed to be correct as Cloud paid no attention to the bitter taste and continued drinking. He seemed to be in deep thought for a moment, as though pondering on what he should answer. Finally; "Heard Axel kissed you."

I made another face of disgust as I turned away from him. "Don't remind me..." I muttered, suddenly finding the taste of the coffee to be very appetizing.

"And I also heard you went hysteric over it." Cloud continued, unabashed.

"You would too if you had your first kiss taken away from you that roughly..." I continued mumbling, reminding myself that the walls have ears in this dorm.

Again, Cloud seemed to choose his words carefully as he responded. "Yes, I guess you might be right, or wrong. I don't know how it feels like though, I have never kissed someone before." He answered grimly; perhaps he is sad about it.

I snorted at his answer and trailed my mug with my fingers delicately. Of course he would not understand, he is a SOLDIER after all, these are the kind of things they were not taught of in their education syllabus. I wondered why Zack was different though...maybe he was just weird.

"Do you hate Axel?" The question came out suddenly, and surprisingly too I might add.

I look up to the boy and met his electric blue eyes. I thought to answer the boy 'yes' but I bit back the motion to do so and instead answered; "No..."

I didn't make any sign of wanting to elaborate my answer so Cloud took it as just that as he nodded. Minutes of silence past by as we sat there quietly, drinking our coffee. For a moment I thought it was alright, just being like this. Cloud offers good silent companionship when you need one. But alas, every good moment has just got to end.

The back door slammed open suddenly, startling me and making Cloud jump out of his seat, ready for action. When no flying knives or bullets came flying in Cloud made to relax and I stood up to go towards the door. No wind could possibly slam the door with such force so it had to be human.

Sure enough as I went closer I heard someone hiccupping and I was greeted by a drowsy (and 100% drunk) Tifa. Her usual long, straight hair was messy and looked like it went through a storm. Her tight white T-shirt was stained with the smell of liquor and she was missing one of her suspenders. The girl was on the floor while holding a bottle of wine, still hiccupping and paid no attention to me as she drank some more.

"Tifa...Oh dear." I made to help her up.

As if finally realizing I was there, Tifa made a goofy grin and hiccupped merrily as she let herself be moved by me. I carried the girl to the kitchen table where Cloud had readied a stool and a towel. After setting her down, Cloud quickly bent over and pressed his hands on her cheeks.

"Teef what happened?" He asked with concern in his voice.

Tifa again grinned toothily and; "I _love it _when you call me Teef..._hiccup*_"

"You're _clearly _drunk. Let's get you some hot soup to drink." I quickly interjected, afraid if 'drunken' Tifa would spill out all her sane side's dark secrets.

"_IIIIIIII'mmmmm not druuuuuunk~ hic*_ I just had some drink is _aaalll~_" She slurred, slumping her shoulders onto the table as she did so.

"Wait here." I gave her a look of concern and motioned for Cloud to follow me. However, before Cloud could even turn Tifa had grabbed his hand, making sure he was within her range of sight.

"Don't _goooo_~" She slurred as her eyes drooped.

Cloud nodded his head and turned his head towards me. "I'll be fine, you prepare the soup."

I looked at the two unsurely, still afraid of what Tifa would let out. Still, standing there worrying of what was going to happen was not helping the situation at all so I opt to make the soup quickly. Thankfully we were all still in the same room so every now and then I could hear their topic of conversation.

Several minutes later, the soup was ready and I served it to Tifa. The girl did not even bother to use a spoon as she dunked her face into the bowl (Luckily I made sure the soup was warm, not volcano-hot), slurping and smacking her lips deliciously.

I shook my head as Cloud sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"I've never seen her like this before..." Cloud mumbled, making me squirm on the inside as I sensed there was a possibility that his respect for Tifa had gone down, _way _down.

"Let's wait till she finishes before we ask her what happen." I said, hoping to salvage whatever there is left between the two.

Finally after licking the bowl clean, Tifa seemed to have stopped hiccupping and her eyes merely hung low, though still unfocused.

"Tifa?" I called the girl softly, making sure she could respond.

The girl merely nodded as her face grimaced in pain. Guess the after-effect of the alcohol had hit in.

"Why were you drinking? You're clearly under aged." Cloud suddenly cuts in. For the first time since I've known him, there was unmistaken anger in his voice.

Tifa still had her eyes shut but I could tell she fears to answer him. Personally, I would _love _to give her a hand but..._Cloud's kind of scary right now so I think I'll mind my own business in the corner here..._

"Well?" Cloud asked quietly, crossing his arms as he waited impatiently for her answer.

Tifa's eyes remained unfocused as she hazily looks up to Cloud. "..." She mumbled.

"Sorry?" Cloud leaned closer, making Tifa squirm in her seat.

"...had a party at the bar..." Tifa mumbled again, this time her words were easily deciphered by Cloud.

_I don't think I should be here...maybe I should... _Slowly, I edged a couple of steps back as I saw every inch of Cloud's hair rose up on edge (not that it's not already spiky or anything). He was emitting an aura of cold anger, one that even made _me _squirm.

As I got closer to the exit I accidentally bumped into something. I swerved to see Aerith's and Naminé's heads peering into the kitchen, with Naminé rubbing her nose (Guess her face was the one I bumped into).

"What's wrong?" Aerith asked, still peeking into the kitchen.

"We heard some noises and thought something was up..." Naminé said delicately as she seemed to have caught on to the situation.

"Lover's quarrel." Hey, I couldn't help saying it could I?

Both the girls giggled as Cloud had already started preaching at Tifa. Saving whatever that's left of her pride, I motioned for both of them to move into the living room, giving the two some privacy.

A few minutes passed as we sat silently in the living room. Finally Naminé offered to get some drinks from the kitchen and promised not to bother the two while she went in there. As the little blonde girl made her way back to Hell's Kitchen, I couldn't help but fear that Cloud would hate Tifa after seeing this side of her.

"Cloud seems hard on her." I said, trying to strike up a conversation.

Aerith switched on the television, switching between channels as she nodded her head. "Yeah well, Cloud's not one to let pass wrongdoings when he sees one." Finally settling with an old black and white movie on screen, the girl puts down the remote and yawned uninterestedly. "I mean, he's kinda' in the army isn't he? Bet she's being told off real good in there."

"He's a little _too _strict on her from what I saw." Naminé's voice was heard in the background.

She came back carrying two bottles of root beer, three plastic cups and a bag of chips. We each filled our cups and Naminé tore open the bag, spilling the content on the coffee table.

"Why'd you say that Nami?" I asked before forgetting.

"Cuz' they're both wrestling on the kitchen table as we speak." She said innocently.

Simultaneously, both Aerith and I threw up all the content of our lunches onto the table (Kidding, we just sputtered out the root beer we drank).

"S-Sorry, I think my ears have gone out on me, must be the bees in the store..." Aerith coughed as she dug her left ear with her finger.

"_They were what again?_" I coughed too as I set down my cup.

"Wrestling on the kitchen table. Tifa seems to be winning though, she was on top of him last I checked." She said matter-of-factly, making me shudder at the image I conjured in my mind.

_Oh Nami sweetie what you saw was sooo not wrestling. Now that I think of it, thank Kingdom Hearts you are naive... _I turned to look at Aerith and the girl's eyes were shining.

"Oh no you don't..." I warned her straight away, putting a hand in front of her face.

"What~? I'm not going to do anything~" Aerith said sweetly, _too sweet_ in fact that it failed to escape my finely tuned ears. Even as she said that the girl had already stood up and was heading towards the kitchen.

"_Aerith Gainsborough _if you so much as take a step inside-"

Before I even managed to finish my sentence the girl was already dashing towards the kitchen. "Oh no you don't!" I chased after the giggling girl as Naminé merely shrugged and continued watching the television.

Again, I forgot that I wasn't that athletic to begin with. Well, neither was Aerith it seems, as she too was already panting after a few good metres (the kitchen wasn't _that _far). I was too late to stop her as she had already peeked into the kitchen as I caught up.

"_What do you think you're doing?_" I asked in a hushed voice, hoping not to disturb any...err..._intimate _activity in the works.

"_Sshh, go ahead and look! Tifa's eating him alive!_" Aerith whispered, completely ecstatic.

"_I don't WANT to look! If anything, they deserve some privacy don't you think?_" I tried dragging the girl back but she stubbornly remained in her place.

"_Don't you want some pointers when you're making out with Axel?_"

Oh, this time you have _sooo _crossed the line! "_Why the heck would I want to make out with AXEL?_"

"_Oh I don't know, maybe cuz' you guys were MAKING OUT early this evening?" _

"You know...you guys are pretty loud for being eavesdroppers..."

I was startled by the sudden interruption and gulped as I peeked inside the kitchen. Both of them were indeed on top of the kitchen table, Tifa was snoozing away and laying flat on top of Cloud, who was looking at our direction.

"Think you can help lift her up? I can't do it from my position..." Cloud said embarrassedly as he shifted uneasily underneath the sleeping girl.

"S-Sure Cloud." Aerith answered.

It didn't take us much to move Tifa away from the boy and he muttered a 'thank you'. Tifa was moved to one of the seats and her body leaned on the kitchen table, still sleeping peacefully. I then looked at Cloud curiously for awhile, I mean, what the heck happened in the minutes we were gone? Cloud noticed my gaze and sighed.

"...She was drunk."

"Uh-huh."

"When you guys left she just...jumped on me."

"Of course."

"I was surprised! I didn't have time react!"

"Perfectly understandable."

"Before I knew it, she was on top of me and slobbering all over me!"

"Couldn't be helped."

"...You guys are completely misunderstanding the situation aren't you?" Cloud sighed, defeated.

"But from what I saw _you _were enjoying it weren't you?" Aerith said with a mischievous smile.

Cloud looked abashed. The boy turned red and was speechless as he ruffled his hair into an even messier state.

"Well?" I couldn't help it. I suddenly had the urge to tease the guy.

Cloud's eyes shifted towards the sleeping girl for a while and neither Aerith nor I missed the affection that was portrayed in his eyes as he watched her.

"...Maybe just a little..." Cloud mumbled as us girls high-fived each other. "It-It doesn't mean I want her to do it every time!" He defended himself.

"Oh? You were planning that far?" I grinned, earning a look of disgust from the blonde.

"You know what I mean." He shook his head.

"So do tell me Cloud, have you fallen for her?" Aerith folded her arms as she sat beside the sleeping Tifa.

Cloud merely stayed quiet, not wanting to answer. The only thing that he said was; "...Don't tell her this happened when she wakes up..." The boy did something unbelievable after that; he leaned forward and kissed Tifa on the forehead. The girl mumbled incoherently and shifted on her seat.

Aerith had her hands pressed on her mouth as she looked at him with a mixture of glee and disbelief. I though, just stared at him like some goldfish.

"I'll tell you the story some other time." Cloud said with a small smile, to which I merely nod my head. "And now, I guess I'll be going. It's getting late." Cloud was mumbling again as he took his jacket from one of the shelves.

"Going so soon? Want me to heat up the coffee before you go." I asked the boy, standing up as he opened the kitchen door.

"Thanks but I'm good Aqua. You take care of yourself now alright?" Cloud smiled again.

"O-Okay, see you at school tomorrow!" I nodded and waved him off.

"Yup. See you tomorrow too Aerith, behave now alright?" Cloud chuckled as Aerith playfully stuck out her tongue.

We heard the sound of Cloud's monstrous engine roar and died out soon after that, ensuring us that the boy has indeed left the premises. I sighed to myself as I turned to look at the messed up kitchen.

"We're gonna' have a heck of a night trying to clean this up..." I shook my head as Aerith patted my shoulder.

* * *

_Come Thursday: Cafeteria_

"_Idiot._" Fuu said in her monotonous voice.

"Idiot." Lightning said in a disgusted voice.

"Idiot." Fang sighed as she snapped her fingers.

"H-Hey cut me some slack, it's not like I did it on purpose that time! And I thought you'd be on my side Fang, since you're a big fan of being reckless!" Axel held his hands up.

"Reckless? Sure thing mate. Tactless? Not in a million years." Fang snorted.

"Who'd force a kiss on their own _best friend_?" Lightning hissed. "Ugh, suddenly I lost my appetite after hearing that story." She pushed her tray of untouched food away.

"Double trouble." Fuu nodded, as if agreeing with Lightning.

"Man...How'd you guys found out anyway?" Axel hung his head low in a defeated manner.

"Aerith told them this morning...and I told Yuffie last night." I said coolly while sipping my orange juice. I looked up to the redhead as he gave me a look of disbelief. "What? She's family. You do know that the Aerith & Yuffie Gossip Hotline spreads fast in this school."

"Stupid hotline..." Axel mumbled as he stabbed his sandwich with his fork.

Roxas, Ven, Hope and Naminé joined us as they carried their trays laden with the cafeteria food. They sat in the table next to ours and the three males looked at Axel and;

"Hey, it's the idiot." Ven said pointedly towards Axel.

"The idiot." Both Roxas and Hope chimed in unison.

"_No way_, even the Three _Hopeless in love _Musketeers are calling me an idiot!" Axel face-palmed himself.

"They pried the story out from me...sorry Aqua..." Naminé said guiltily, but hey I don't blame the girl for anything!

"No worries, they were bound to know sooner or later." I said simply, still maintaining my cool demeanour.

"Know what?" Demyx asked, joining our merry band with Kairi and Sora. His gaze fell upon Axel and; "Oh, hey _moron_."

"Dem, the right word should be _idiot_." Kairi sighed as Sora nodded his head.

"Great, even my ally of two years is calling me an _idiot_. Oh, and Demyx, you ain't getting that new video game you wanted." Axel said ruefully.

"What? Why not?" Demyx shouted, causing Kairi to painfully rub her ears from the noise.

"Cuz' you called me a _moron_, moron!" Axel hissed.

"Oh, calm down Axel he didn't mean you any harm...Oh look, there's Yuna and the _Gullwings _(I asked their _real _group name in class just now)." I pointed towards the incoming girls.

"Hi Aqua." Yuna waved merrily, holding only a can of raspberry juice in her hand. Behind her both Rikku and Paine waved too (One waved a little bit too enthusiastically while the other...meh, not so much).

"Hey gang...hey to you too _dumbass_." Paine said in her bored voice.

"It's-" Axel began in an annoyed voice.

"I know, I just wanted to call you that." Paine shrugged as Axel glared at her.

"Fine...Let's all call Axel an idiot today shall we?" He declared loudly, to which the crowd said in unison;

"_You're an idiot._"

"...Even you Serah...?" Axel asked pleadingly, looking at the younger girl with a sad, lost puppy look.

"I-I'm sticking to my vote!" Serah said confidently.

"Look guys..." I began as Axel had finally lost all of his self-confidence and began diminishing into small ashes. "Don't be too hard on the guy. I mean, sure he _literally _forced kissed me and _destroyed _my childhood dream of a charming first kiss, but he didn't mean any harm by it. Right, Axel?" I turned to look at the redhead, who had seemingly disappeared from his seat.

"Uh, where's Axel?" I looked left and right.

"I think he's already turned to dust and blown away..." Lightning said dully.

"No he's not, he just fell down." Kairi pointed downwards.

"_Sigh* _You guys pick him up while I go visit Aerith in the library..." I sighed as I hear a faint sound of fake sobs coming from underneath the table.

Before anyone could say anything else I quickly stood up and walked out of the cafeteria. Whispers and murmurs followed me as I walked past the student body but as usual, I paid no heed to their interest.

I felt someone tugging my sleeve and turned to see Naminé looking up into my eyes with a desperate look.

"Can I...follow you?" Naminé asked in her usual soft voice.

"Sure, but didn't you just get here with your food?" I asked. The girl barely sat there for five minutes and I know she's not a fast or gluttonous eater.

"Oh, you know...I suddenly remembered I ate too much breakfast so I'm really not that hungry." Naminé said, rather quickly.

"C-Can I follow too?"

I looked behind the blonde girl to see Lightning's little sister, Serah, panting and looking quite nervous herself.

"Okay you two, what's up?" I folded my arms as I looked at the two. Somehow, they really look alike despite one being a blonde and the other a strawberry-head.

Finding the place to be inappropriate to discuss the matter, I led the two outside and into the corridor, where there were less people to pry. The two girls looked at each other nervously and it was Serah that spoke;

"They're talking about...you know, the kiss thing..." Serah nudged her head towards our seats.

"Oh." I got it.

"We're not really good with kisses and stuffs..." Naminé admitted, fiddling with her fingers nervously.

"What? But don't you guys usually kiss with your boy- Oh." I got it again.

"Claire would kill me and castrate Snow if she saw so much as a hickey on me." Serah admitted sadly.

"Riku only kisses me on the cheeks and forehead..." Naminé said as her face grew beet red.

"I guess the three of us are pretty clueless on this stuff huh? Oh wait, I guess I'm already ranked novice since yesterday." I joked but the two didn't laugh. Hey, it was funny wasn't it?

"Aqua..." Naminé began nervously.

"I'm sorry I was being insensitive, though I'm not sure to whom actually." I shook my head. "...Alright time's a wastin', you two can come if you want." I smiled as the two high-fived.

* * *

_Corridor: Duh!_

"...So then Snow said, '_It wasn't my fault! The stove just blew up all of a sudden!' _and Claire had to chase him around the house to make him confess that he had tweaked the poor thing a bit when she wasn't looking." Serah concluded as all of us laughed.

"H-How on earth could anyone possibly make an omelette explode so early in the morning?" I bit back the urge to laugh again as I imagined Lightning's face and Snow's when she had finished with him.

"Oh Snow breaks something once in a while, trouble is he always does it whenever Claire is in the vicinity." Serah giggled.

"Doesn't bode well with Lightning's blood pressure does it?" I nodded my head absentmindedly, still thinking about the incident.

"Not at all... Sis kept saying Snow will be the death of her, and that the reason why she deserved Snow was because she snuck away from her tour group of the Guardian Corp headquarters back when she was in fifth grade in primary school." Serah relayed, her eyes twinkling as she reminiscence.

"Snuck away from her tour group in fifth grade?" Naminé repeated.

"Back when we were still living in Coccoon, that was when she first met Snow." Serah smiled.

"Whoa, the two of them knew each other that long?" I said, mildly surprised with the fact that Lightning had known the large guy for seven years and haven't managed to kill him yet.

"They were in different classes but Claire grew on Snow. They argued a lot and had silly fights like '_who's the king of the playground?_' and stuff. Claire always won though, and she'd beat any kid that tried to bully me back then too."

"So Snow's Lightning's first friend?" I pressed, interested.

"Uh, not really... I mean they hang out sometimes but Snow's got his own group like Gadot , Yuj and Lebreau. Claire's always been...alone. She never really played with any of the other kids... I always saw her sitting alone on the swings and playing in the sandbox by herself." Serah stopped smiling all of a sudden, frowning to herself.

"She's reclusive huh?" I said without thinking.

"I think so...she became even more isolated after Snow's group played a bad prank on her in sixth grade..." Serah mumbled as she agreed with me. "Not to mention the amount of Munny mum and dad spent on shrinks to get her out of the house again..."

"Looks like Lightning's oodles of fun when she's a kid."

We turned to see the source of the voice.

"_Larxene._" Despite the tone of my voice, I didn't really fell any resentment towards the older girl (Well, she _is _Naminé's real sister, she can't be that bad now can she?).

"Sup' four-eyes? Oh, and Nams." Larxene seemed to pay no heed towards her little sister as she shoved Naminé aside to walk (Okay, maybe I was wrong about the '_that bad_' part).

"Hey!" Serah managed to catch Naminé before she hit the lockers.

Larxene stopped in her track and stared at the strawberry-haired girl. "Got something to say brat?"

"Y-Yeah I got something to say! W-Why don't you treat Naminé properly? Isn't she your sister?" Serah tried her best to put up a brave front but ended up cowering together with Naminé anyways. Nice job not trying to show your fear Serah...

"Sister-schmister, she was in my way. And hey..." Larxene squinted as she drew her face closer to Serah's. "Aint'cha the _hussy _that's always flocking around Snow?"

Serah looked absolutely shocked from that insult and was left utterly speechless as Larxene grabbed Naminé and held her in front of her eyes.

"Hmm...You look fine...Meh, shouldn't have worried about ya', not when you're with her I guess..." Larxene's eyes lingered on me for a while. "Welp', I got what I came for so I'll be seeing ya' pipsqueaks." She waved lazily as she walked off.

"W-Wait." Naminé held her hand out to Larxene.

"Hmm?" Larxene turned her head around, looking at the younger girl with disinterest.

"Y-You said you were worried about me..." Naminé said softly, twiddling her fingers nervously.

Larxene looked at her quizzically for a second before her eyes grew wide. "Oh...Yeah ya' know, what with the company ya' keep and all that...Thought you mighta' been hit by them jocks or sumthin', _though I'd kill any of em' that'd lay a hand on you._" Larxene said the last part so softly that Naminé missed it, but I didn't.

"Not like your company's any better." I snorted.

Larxene shot a glare at me before scoffing; "I ain't taking any crap from you four-eyes, and how'd you end up with Axel anyway? The boy has no taste."

"He wasn't in his right mind then." I said coolly.

"What, so the rumours are true then? You guys are dating? When I heard the girls said 'Aqua' I thought it was the other chick, y'know, ya'll President? The pretty one." Larxene looked at me interestedly.

"Nope. It ain't me or _her _either." I said simply, keeping a poker-face as the girl looked at me incredulously.

"Meh, not like I care in the first place." She pulled one of her antennae-like hairdo and made to walk away but again, halfway through, she stopped in her steps. "Although... if it were true then I could think of _two _people that'd be heartbroken." Larxene suddenly smirked.

"Two?" Now it was my turn to be confused.

"You know who the first one is, big guy, really spiky hair and got macho issues...funny thing is, that President of yours might know the _second _guy too." Larxene continued smirking as she walked away for real this time before I got the chance to ask her who.

Serah and Naminé came closer to me as I watched the Larxene's back disappear from sight. _Who could she have meant? The first guy is prolly' Terra...probably but who's the second guy? Then again I don't really care anymore..._

"What was that about...?" Serah mumbled as she shook her head.

"She knows something...and she's hinting it out like some Cluedo game..." I clucked my tongue as I thought of the possibility that Larxene could just be playing with me. _Or maybe it's just some random dude in her class that's got a crush on me...low odds but still much better than admitting that the banshee had indeed got me thinking. Funny though that she didn't suspect me as the President...maybe I really look different when I'm wearing glasses..._

"No use thinking about it, c'mon guys, Aerith's waiting for us..." I muttered, pushing the matter to the furthest, darkest part of my brain. Whatever Larxene's hinting, it's not worth the effort to get bothered by it.

* * *

_Terra_

* * *

"Could you two at least talk it over before fighting?" I sighed.

"To hell with talking! This chap has made his wish for an early death when he went and thrashed the archery field with his nonsense!" XIgbar yelled as Zidane was trying his best to stop the enraged one-eyed man.

"_Chap? _Did you just seriously said that Xiggy? Oh _jolly good _then! I'm gonna' have a blast kicking your butt over before I have a cup a' tea guvna'!" Vanitas mocked as Xaldin restrained him.

This is definitely not my day. First thing after the bell rang for lunch I got called over by Tifa (who looked like she got one heck of a migraine) saying that these two morons are at it over some little 'accident' in the archery field. From what I gather, Vanitas had picked a fight with some of the Archery club members and turned the place upside-down. Xibar wasn't too happy about that it seems.

"What should we do? It'll be bad if any of the Enforcers get here..." Tifa mumbled softly, holding a pack of ice pressed onto the side of her head.

"_Sigh* _I don't care anymore. Xaldin, Zidane, just put these two idiots into detention room for awhile. Cid might be able to get them to calm down." I waved as the two nodded and dragged the still bickering duo.

Finding the dispute solved, I exited the archery field together with Tifa and made my way to the cafeteria (Hope there's still time for the spaghetti). _Speaking of the cafeteria though, maybe Aqua's there too. I can ask her about the whole Axel thing afterwards...Did the two really started dating already? Boy I'll be depressed if that was true..._

Gossips spread fast in this school. Although there are two Aqua in this school it didn't take me any time at all to figure out which Aqua they were talking about. After all, I was there when the kiss took place.

"You're worried." Tifa mumbled. The girl had kept up to my pace and seemed to be more worried of me rather than her untimely headache.

"It really shows huh?" I didn't deny it. I'm more worried than a bucket of crabs ready to be sushi (Figuratively speaking).

"Why not you just go ask her about it?" Tifa mumbled again.

"That's what I'm about to do actually." I nodded my head as I gave her my winning smile. The truth is I don't want to ask her. What if she actually said 'yes'? I mean, those two are always together from what I heard and it's not really a surprise to anybody if they actually got together (Which they could have).

As we turned the corner a loud bang was heard and a lot of loud curses followed coming from the locker areas of the seniors. Before I could even wonder what was going on two blue and red coloured flashes ran past me, sniggering and looking mighty pleased with themselves.

"Thorn and Zorn... What are those twins up to?" I frowned.

Those two were part of the Athletics team, what with their amazing speed of being chased by bullies back in their freshmen year. They were never caught even once, which led to out-of-hand pranks caused by them and the casualties? The whole student body. Heck, even Cid was involved what with them putting snakes in his desk drawer (He wasn't too pleased about it, oh no). Finally Beatrix broke the record and caught the two. They fast became her worshippers though, more out of fear than respect.

"I don't like the looks on their faces...those sophomores could be up to something..." Tifa too was frowning.

"Me too, and I believe it has something to do with the potty mouth we're about meet here..." I stared at the banging locker.

"YOU SHRIMPS LET ME OUT RIGHT NOW OR I'M GONNA' #$% YOU TWO AND #$% YOU HARD!"

Someone was clearly inside, and judging by the amount of swearing and curses it had to be;

"That you Yuffie?" No doubt about it.

The banging stopped and a moment of silent ensued as I saw a pair of eyes peeking through the ventilation hole of the locker.

"Mr. Popularity?" Oh, you so don't want to say that to your saviour.

"Try again~ if you get it wrong this time I might just leave you here and order the whole student body to avoid this place out of fear of a disease outbreak~" I smirked as the eyes turned round and whole.

"W-Wait I'm joking, I'm joking geez... Terra, is that you o' holy and vivacious knight in shining armour o' mine?" She said sweetly.

"Hmm, that'll do I guess." I shrugged and banged the locker hard, causing it to creak open. Sure enough Yuffie came tumbling out, gasping for air and crouching on the floor for air.

"T-Thanks." She choked as she inhaled loudly (and violently). "And hi Tifa..." She managed a small wave as Tifa waved back.

"Thorn and Zorn?" I said as I raised my eyebrows.

Yuffie nodded her head and made a look so deadly it gave me a slight chill over my spine. "When I see those cretins I'll make them wish they never heard the name 'Yuffie Kisaragi'..." She mumbled darkly.

"Why'd they shove you into a locker in the first place?" Tifa asked, giving the girl a hand as she stood up.

"I was asking around if anyone wanted to join our team for the Sports Festival...then they came up front to me and pushed me into this locker! Worst part is no one helped me at all! They just acted like I was part of the decor or something!" She said angrily as she stomped her foot onto the floor.

"Figured they'd try and stop you from recruiting...Xemnas must have put them up to it, he's the only one who can control them other than Beatrix." I stated. Well duh, he's the head-honcho of the Athletics Department isn't he?

"Didn't need a hint to guess that." Yuffie muttered as she dusted off her skirt. "_Sigh* _Well I wasn't having much luck anyways, the guys are all a bunch of chickens the second they heard we're going against the jocks...not picking a fight with you guys or anything." She held a hand up in front of her.

"No worries, we're not that sensitive." I joked.

"You're my long time friend and Aqua's cousin. Got nothing against you guys at all." Tifa smiled.

...Wait, what?

"Wait a minute, you're Aqua's cousin?" I asked the girl.

"Yup." Yuffie nodded happily.

"_The _Aqua, President of the Angel Wings?"

"Yeah."

"The one who went against Xemnas in the school assembly?"

"The very same."

I looked at the girl like she was _my _saviour right now. I grabbed both her arms and smiled at her like a little kid.

"You're just the girl I'm looking for."

* * *

_Axel_

* * *

I am definitely reaching my limits now. Not only am I giving these guys the permission to slander and insult me but I am also giving them too much space to make their own speculation of what really happened.

In the end I couldn't take more of their excruciating verbal abuse and headed out towards the school garden. I sighed and sat on a bench near the school tree as I thought about what had transpired yesterday.

"...Why did I do it in the first place? Damn it, I totally ruined my relationship with Aqua." I groaned to myself.

"No use beating yourself up over it."

I looked to my right to see Lightning walking casually towards me. The strawberry-haired girl gave a rare smile as the sunlight shone on her figure, making her look extremely feminine (Still a rare moment).

"Still not enough? Wanna' lecture me some more?" I sighed again.

Lightning paid no heed to my question though as the girl took a seat next to me, staring at flowerbed in front of her. I shrugged it off and stared at the same thing too, not really sure what to say to her anyways.

"...Been six years." Lightning mumbled.

"What was that?" I raised an eyebrow and looked at the girl.

"Nothing really, it's just been six years since you and I became friends. Remember the first time we met?" Lightning raised her eyebrow as she crossed her arms.

"Who wouldn't? I went out of my way to help you out in that playground and you gave me a broken nose as a return gift." I frowned as I touched my nose, remembering the painful detail of my childhood.

Lightning gave a hoarse laugh as she ruffled her hair. "It wasn't my fault! I thought you were one of Snow's idiotic friends trying to make my life even more miserable." The girl stood up and went to the flowerbed, bending down and picked a white lily. She looked at the flower fondly for a second before pocketing it into her breast pocket.

"Picking a flower? That's mighty rare for you." I joked as she gave me a thoughtful smile. "...So how'd the interview go?"

"What interview?" Lightning dropped her smile. The girl resumed her place next to me and gave a careful look.

"The reason why you haven't been to school lately isn't because you're stuck in the hospital. I know you snuck out a few times to go out of town. So? They accepted your letter?" I asked.

Lightning looked worried for a second. "Don't tell Serah or my mum and dad..."

"You know I won't. So, is the elusive Guardian Corps going to have a new super-powered soldier in their midst next year?" I smirked.

"I dunno' yet Axel... I mean, we seniors are graduating this year and all of us had gone to talks and stuffs on what to do for our future. Fang's going for a college in Gran Pulse, she said it was her first choice since they've got the best girls volleyball team in the state. Aerith's getting a scholarship for Meds School in Midgar, she wanted to become a doctor all her life. All of our friends seemed to have a goal in mind that doesn't involve risking their lives." For the first time since I've known her, Lightning looked worried.

"Lucky I got held back or I'd be more worried than you." I joked, trying to cheer her up. She gave me a wry smile as she looked back towards the flowerbed.

"Mum and Dad just wanted me to go for Destiny College, they don't care whatever course I'm taking as long as I'm close to home. Serah seemed to agree with them, said she didn't want me to go far away." Lightning chuckled a bit at the last part. "Imagine her not wanting me to go away? I haven't really done anything as a big sister to her anyways, she's always the one who's been looking after me."

"You know she loves you don't you? Sure the kid's a bit naughty and sneaks out for a date with the big bear every now and then but she's always looked up to you doesn't she?" I encouraged her.

"The thing is she talks to Snow more about her problems rather than me, worse, even to Ven. I'm starting to feel we're distancing away from each other and I know it's my fault for that." Lightning mumbled as she massaged her forehead.

"Now now, we'll worry about that later. So, how'd the interview go?" I asked again. The girl seemed to have cheered up a bit as she began answering.

"It went well! They were really pleased with my physical record and they asked a bit about what I know about the military and stuff. I mean, of course we're a branch to PSICOM and also SOLDIER but I made the Guardian Corp looked good." She began.

I watched the girl chatter away happily about how her interview went and thought that this was indeed a rare side to Lightning. The usual sullen girl is nowhere to be seen as she also explained about her field test which was going to take place next month.

"And that's just the thing you see...I'm not sure if I want to join the Guardian Corps..."

"What? But joining them had always been one of your dreams! I mean, which girl talked more about laser guns and mortars rather than make-ups and ponies when she was a kid?" I said.

"I know, and I really want to enlist..."

"So what's the problem then?"

"Serah." Lightning said glumly. "And my mum and dad. They're strongly against me joining the military. Remember back in freshman year? They went nuts during the parent-teacher meeting when I told them I wanted to be in the army."

"Yeah, and your dad had a seizure when you cut your hair with that combat knife you bought online."

She laughed at that. "Do you remember the time I shot Snow with that paintball gun? Turns out the bullets were made of skunk essence, Snow couldn't get rid of the smell for a month."

"Oh, and the time you snuck out at night and forced me to join you to patrol the island for monsters? You were just scared of the darkness back then right?"

The both of us roared with laughter from the flashbacks. It died down after a minute or so, as we stopped to catch our breaths. Suddenly, as if struck by lightning (Pardon the pun), I got what she was trying to do.

"Thanks Light..." I thanked her with a smile on my face. She just wanted to cheer me up.

"Got you off _your _worries didn't I?" She said with a satisfied look.

"Yup, all of a sudden my worries looked like some bacteria compared to you guys'." I gotta' stop worrying about the 'what-ifs' and 'what-not'.

"Oh, I forgot to invite you!" Lightning suddenly exclaimed, making me jump in my seat. "Tomorrow's Serah's birthday! My parents are making a small party for her close friends and they said it was okay to bring mine too."

"Geez, that's what you screamed for? I mean, sure tomorrow's a Friday right? We're gonna have a blast!" I cheered, pumping my fists up. "Uh, just who else did you invite?"

"Aqua, Aerith, Fang, Cloud...and the rest of the club members of course. I know Serah would've invited Snow regardless." Lightning sniffed.

"Aqua too huh? Think she'll talk to me like she used to? Even you'd realize she was treating me differently the whole day." I mumbled, ruffling my spiky hair.

"It'll take some time but I'm sure she'll treat you normally soon enough. After all, the Sports Festival is right around the corner." Lightning looked serious at that. "...And we're still short on manpower..."

I looked up to the sky and began counting. "Minus five of us we've got nine from the original group... Then there's Snow...The three cheerleading chicks...and Leon..." I counted.

"Leon?" Lightning raised her eyebrows.

"Huge surprise innit'? The guy called me up last night saying he wants to be in the team. A favour for the melodious bluebird he says." I shrugged.

"He's trustable I guess." Lightning nodded her head. I know that Leon is in her class and the two seemed to be in good terms. After all, Lightning was the first person to recognize Leon's work and the toughness of it.

"We're short of one more... I don't want any of my classmates to get involved any further than they have to. The kids are a good bunch. Noisy, but they meant well."

"First time I heard you say that." Lightning seemed impressed.

"Meh, just saying I don't want them airheads beating down on good kids like Vaan or Hayner. There's also the question of loyalty if someone from the jocks like Tidus and Tifa to be helping us too." I mumbled.

"Well we've got three more days to look. That's a lot of time and it's not like something big would happen-"

However, Lightning was not able to finish her words as it was interrupted by a shrill call of Lightning's name. The both of us frowned and looked around for the source of the noise.

"LIGHTNING!"

"I should've known...Snow." Lightning sighed and stood up. She raised a hand up to signal him of her position.

The big guy caught sight of her, ran towards us at full speed and ended up out of breath in front of us. He bent on his knees and panted heavily, trying to catch his breath.

"What up big guy?" I asked in a relaxed voice. I mean, there's no accident anywhere right? The guy is always screaming and shouting anyways.

"Light...Look..._Pant*_, don't panic okay?" Snow panted, a hint of urgency in his voice.

"What's wrong?" Lightning suddenly tensed up. I stopped fooling around too, and became fully focused all of a sudden.

"_Pant* _Just relax okay, and listen closely." Snow straightened up.

"Just get to it already, what happened? Is it Serah?" Lightning said urgently.

"N-No. I got called by Sazh in the gym just now, they got a call from the hospital." Snow looked quite panicked himself.

Suddenly I felt a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I felt the anxiousness creeping in as Lightning's eyes grew wide from Snow's words.

"Your parents were involved in a car accident. Light...T-They didn't make it."

And all as I know it was never the same again.

* * *

_Shorties Smarties #5 – Talk a little more would you?_

A very normal start for the day as the Angels was busy going about their usual business (Classes and whatnot). Here in the clubroom is a special pair indeed, of Cloud and Fuu, waiting for the day to end.

Cloud, ever so punctual, had come early for no apparent reason. He had a book in his hand which Aerith had given him from the library.

'_100 Ways to Strike a Conversation'_

That was the title of the said book. Apparently he lacked social skills, or so Aerith had pointed out. Being a good soldier was not good enough these days, she had said, and he needs more practice in being a sociable person if he were to be accepted by society.

Now, being a military man, Cloud felt it weird to be practicing on such an unfamiliar subject. He could go on stealth missions, he could be a spy in a foreign country, heck he could even go against a horde of monsters alone if he so wishes, but in no way is Cloud Strife a talkative person.

Just then another person entered the room. Cloud's head swivelled towards the door, and there he saw the elusive Fuu. The girl nodded her head inconspicuously as a form of greeting and sat in front of Cloud, opening her bag and taking out her homework.

Silence befell the two as only the scratching sound of her pen was heard and nothing else. Now Cloud saw the opportunity he was looking for, a chance to try out Aerith's book.

He flicked past the first few pages and onto the first chapter, in which the book says the first thing to do is to greet the person in a friendly manner. Being an analytical guy, of course Cloud would go for the most profound way to greet;

"..._Cough*_"

"..."

He was ignored, so Cloud coughed even louder. The pen scribbling stopped, and Fuu looked up to stare at Cloud. This was his chance, he thought.

"H-Hey." Cloud raised a hand.

"..."

"H-How ya' doin'? Nice weather we're having right?" Nice touch, Cloud thought, on the topic about the weather.

"Quite Plausible." Was what Fuu replied.

"..."

Silence befell them again as Fuu resumed her previous activity. Cloud wouldn't let this end, he thought desperately as he flicked through the pages again. This time, the book mentioned to ask her about her favourite topic, like idols, books and such. Bracing himself, Cloud coughed again and Fuu stopped writing.

"U-Uh, do you like...writing...?" Even Cloud felt foolish at the question, and prayed with all his might Fuu wouldn't consider him a freak for asking that.

"..." Fuu did not say anything but she did nod, a good sign for Cloud.

"S-So you must like reading too right? What kind of books...?"

"...Unicorns..." And she resumed writing.

Cloud was stumped at that. Wait, what? Cloud looked at the girl for awhile and thought that it was pointless to continue asking questions. He was obviously bothering the girl and she was making no effort to answer him fully. Then he noticed the book he was holding and he knows, Cloud knows, that a man wouldn't back down from a challenge. He was making a conversation with this girl, _yessiree_.

"S-So how'd you find the club? Do you enjoy it so far?" Cloud gritted his teeth as he asked.

Again, Fuu watched him thoughtfully for a while. "...Fulfilling."

"Oh, then did you make many friends already?"

"...Affirmative."

"And your thoughts about the people here?"

"...Jovial."

"They are, aren't they? Oh speaking of which, did you know that the cafeteria's having a sale on their wholegrain breads?"

"...Truly?"

"A-And also the cinema in town is showing the new 'Harry Potter' movie..."

Unbeknownst to the two of them, their whole conversation was eavesdropped by three youthful sprites.

"I never knew Cloud was such a talker..." Roxas mumbled as the other two nodded.

So the three decided to leave the two alone, with Cloud making long-winded questions while Fuu answered with one-liner statements. Just another normal day in the clubroom folks.


	16. CHAPTER XVI: Revelations Part 4

Ya-haw! OMG how long has it been? I cannot say how much I missed writing! After losing my laptop and personal computer when someone broke into my apartment the other month (not gonna' elaborate on that) I missssseeeeed you guys! Anyway long story short I felt sucky, I felt down, penniless (exaggerating) and out of the tube for months before finally saving up enough for a new lappy! Nyway this chappy is progressing smoothly with the finishing arc and there'll be no shorty smarties this time for timing issues! The next one I'll put two! Promise! Nyway without further ado~ the 16th chappy! Yahaw!

* * *

CHAPTER XVI: Revelations (Part 4)

* * *

_Aqua_

* * *

_Friday: Keyblade Graveyard_

It was supposed to be a day filled with joy and laughter. For once, they do not need to worry about the coming Monday, where the fierce tournament that could very well change their status in school would take place. Today they should be celebrating Serah's sixteenth birthday. Today should be the day Lightning finally accepts Snow as Serah's boyfriend. Today should be the day they would finally break into Lightning's room and peek at her diary. Yes, all of these happy moments should have happened, but then; why are all of them standing in a graveyard?

_Why are Lightning and Serah crying, hugging each other on the ground? Why are all of us wearing black? Why are Mr and Mrs Farron lying peacefully next to each other, laid down in a coffin? Why are these tears falling down my cheeks? Oh yeah...we're at Lightning's and Serah's parents' funeral..._

All of us; club members, Lightning's and Serah's classmates, family friends, and schoolmates stood in the Keyblade Graveyard, the place where the bodies of Mr and Mrs Farron are being laid to rest forever. I stood a few good distances from the crowd, unable to find the strength to talk to anyone.

It had been hectic and devastating day yesterday. I wasn't able to remember clearly as my memory had gone hazy from the stress and sadness. It had been Lightning who had delivered the grievous news to her little sister, Serah, in the library. As the three of us; Serah, Naminé, and I, were busy laughing and teasing each other together with Aerith, when she came along.

That day there was a mass breakout in Destiny High, as we from the Angel Wings rushed to the hospital. I didn't even have the time to register that there were a lot of others following that were not from the club itself like Terra, Zidane, Garnet and even Mr. Sazh himself (A teacher) to name a few.

It didn't even register to me that that was the first time I saw Lightning cried, or that the sisters were now homeless as their home had been immediately taken away from them by their parents' employers. Nothing was left except for a few personal items and the clothes on their back. Reality is cruel and no less harsh when no family members came after Lightning had pleaded for their help on the phone.

_Yesterday_

"No one came..." Serah squeaked through the tears.

It was already dark out as the few of us remained with the sisters. Everyone had insisted to stay but the doctors and nurses forbid them in the case that we were too noisy and disturbed the other patients. We waited in the hospital lobby for the sisters' relatives to come pick them up.

"M-Maybe there was a traffic jam somewhere outside the island...?" Ven's voice trailed off at the glum looks on our faces.

Serah let out another sob as Snow hugged her tightly.

_Where are they? I mean, Lightning's gotta' have an uncle or an aunt or maybe a distant dorky cousin somewhere in the Island right? Or maybe they're still in Cocoon...that'd explain the lateness of like what, fifteen hours?_

"_No one's coming._" Lightning grunted.

All of us turned to look at the older girl, her face shines with fresh tears. She snapped her cell-phone shut as she leaned on one of the pillars in the lobby, looking absolutely disgruntled.

"I tried calling _everyone_, no one's picking up their phone at all...I mean, they answered the first time I called! A-Are they really that _selfish_?" Lightning spat.

Serah looked up to see her sister's face, a look of pure disbelief plastered on her face. "C-Claire!"

"It's the truth isn't it? T-The reason they were so good to us in the first place is because of mum and dad's Munny! The moment these plastic faces found out they have snuffed it they broke all contact with us!" Lightning stomped on the floor, clearly looking outraged.

"Y-You can't know that for sure Claire, I mean, how about Uncle-?" Serah didn't manage to finish her sentence as Lightning banged her fist onto the pillar.

"Wake up Serah! We're _all alone now_! Right from the moment we were born we're..._we're expandable!_" Lightning gritted her teeth as she closed her eyes painfully.

Fang then moved quickly to Lightning's side, catching her just as she collapsed in mid-air. Lightning let out a sob as tears streamed down her face and I have never seen Lightning looked so..._vulnerable_ as she cried silently in Fang's arms. Serah broke down seconds later, running towards her sister and Lightning hugged her tightly, as if afraid that Serah might disappear from her too.

Bewilderment and pity filled our faces as we watched the sisters, their cries echoing through the silent building. I stood there, frozen on the spot as my brain dulled and my senses blurring. Finally, for what seemed like hours passed by, Mr. Sazh finally coughed, letting his presence be known amongst the teenagers.

"Boys... Girls... I know it's a rough moment right now but...we have to settle the burial matters for tomorrow..." Mr. Sazh spoke in a sombre voice, looking at the strawberry-haired sisters.

"But...we don't have any Munny..." Serah squeaked, eyes still shining with tears.

"Now don't you go worrying about that little missy. I don't know how other teachers would treat their students but I'm not about to leave you kids hanging. I'll pay for the burial services and anything else y'all might need." Mr. Sazh smiled sadly as he said so.

"We can't have you do that." Serah said, hastily wiping her tears away and looking at her teacher as if he had swallowed a jar full of toads.

"I won't take 'no' for an answer, in fact I'm going to make the preparations right now." Mr. Sazh flipped his cell phone open and began calling someone. Over the few conversations that Mr. Sazh made, there were solemn condolences and such directed to the twins and although he spoke the last bit softly, so softly in fact, that only I could hear him because he was standing next to me, was; "Kids should just be kids...no need to worry about adult stuffs."

Lightning, who seemed to have regained her composure, stood up and bowed to Mr. Sazh. "Thank you for everything Sazh..." She mumbled, a few teardrops fell to the floor as she continued lowering her head until Mr. Sazh finally pulled her up.

"I know you since you were just a small kid running around the playground with that toy sword of yours and I was there when your mum...your mum gave birth to Serah so there's no need to thank me. Don't go thinking you have to pay me back someday too, I'll just throw away that Munny if that ever happens." Mr. Sazh said sternly but not unkindly.

Lightning nodded in understanding, a small smile crept up her face though it seemed out of place at the moment.

"We'll hold the ceremony tomorrow morning...now will you two be alright staying at home alone or should some of your friends stay over just in case...?" Mr. Sazh inquired.

"It's alright Sazh... I think Serah and I need some alone time tonight...to sort things out..." Lightning muttered, putting a hand around her sister and the younger girl nodded in agreement.

"Alright but if anything happens make sure to call any of us O.K.?" Mr. Sazh said to which the two girls nodded.

"_Heh_, counting our luck we'll probably lose the house soon too..."

* * *

_Present Time_

_Mum always said not to jinx our luck...guess she was right. _I thought numbly, wiping the tears on my face away. Everything happened so fast and even if I had never met the Farron couple I'm pretty sure they were nice people considering that even the townspeople came to pay their respects.

Serah had shifted towards Snow, whom had given her a large enough hug to shield her away from everyone's view. Lightning though, remained on the ground. I blinked a few times and continued watching her. _Something's wrong. _I know it. Her eyes were not displaying sadness rather there was a hollow, distant look now, directed at the freshly dug dirt.

"Lightning...?" I mumbled quietly, quickly making my way to the said girl. However, I was beaten by a certain redhead, whom had clasped his hand on her shoulder.

Lightning looked up at Axel, whom was watching her with eyes full of genuine concern and sympathy. Neither said anything as they stared at each other and suddenly Lightning stood up, her hand lightly touching his.

"...I made my decision..." Lightning mumbled.

"About...?" Axel raised an eyebrow.

"...I'm going to join the Guardian Corps..." Lightning mumbled again, this time her eyes lit up with passion.

This time I could see both Axel's eyes widen but the boy said nothing. He merely nodded and their connected hands intertwined as they walked together, hand in hand.

I found myself hiding behind a tree when this had taken place of course. How I got here was a mystery though, but I'm pretty sure I had a dumb look on my face as I watched the newly formed couple walk away.

* * *

_Temporary Club Meeting Room: The Haunted Dormitory_

Everyone was deathly silent. It was unnerving how even the loud bunch (meaning Yuffie, Fang, and the Three Musketeers) managed to zip up for once. I looked around nervously, finding the silence uncomfortable and for once wished Axel was here to start the meeting.

_Where is he anyway? He was the one who texted all of us to be here in the first place and now he's gone. Seriously I'm going to give that boy an earful when he gets here! _I thought irritably.

Axel wasn't the only one missing though. The Farron sisters were notably absent, Snow had dutifully followed Serah of course, and Xion hadn't responded to the text message. There wasn't any time to ponder on Xion's absent though, as seconds later a loud thud and a bang was heard coming from the stairs.

A half-naked Mr. Jecht entered the living room, yawning and scratching his head, not noticing the large group present. His eyes grew wide for a moment after realising though, and he distinctly stopped scratching. He looked around the room, taking in the atmosphere.

"What's up all your butts this early in the morning?" He asked, confused. "_Oooh _I see now, okay who got caught by the cops? Was it drunk-driving or did one of ya' joined some freaky occult group?" Mr. Jecht asked with a grin.

"Old man! Can't you read the mood?" Tidus stood up, frowning at his father. The blonde face-palmed himself when the older man merely yawned and cracked his neck.

"_Yawn* _'fraid I drank a little too much on the road last night...so what'd I miss?" Mr. Jecht asked as he massaged his forehead.

"The Farron couple just passed away, we were at their burial ceremony." Fang answered quietly, her arms folded as she eyed the older man.

"Eh? Who's that?" Mr. Jecht yawned, looking away disinterestedly.

"The Farron couple dad! You know, Lightning and Serah Farron, the sisters at our school? Well their-" However, Tidus did not manage to finish his words as his father shouted loudly, interrupting him.

"Eh? You mean those strawberry brats _died_?" Mr. Jecht exclaimed, looking utterly surprised.

"No you dimwit, the Farron _couple_, their parents!" Yuffie said rudely, a vein popping on her forehead as she was close to cracking at the older man.

"Oh, my condolences to the _Follon_ couple then." He said simply as he calmed down, ruffling his notable shaggy hair.

"_Farron_." We corrected in unison.

"Right, I said that." He mumbled and walked haphazardly towards the kitchen mumbling, "_I need a pick-me-up..._" The room fell silent again after the loud adult went off. Each of us looking quite confused ourselves as to what had happened.

"I'm sorry that my dad is an idiot..." Tidus muttered embarrassedly, face red with shame as Yuna patted his back cooing, "_There, there_."

Silence fell again but this time it was much appreciated. Minutes later the man of the event finally arrived, and again, I can't help but to notice, still had his fingers intertwined with the strawberry-haired girl. Axel looked around once and coughed slightly before letting go of Lightning's hand.

"So...is everyone here?" He asked.

"Xion, Serah and Snow are missing." Naminé piped up. The blonde had been silent all the while, her eyes and nose still red from crying. She had not left my side ever since we left the graveyard and I was not inclined to let her walk alone either, for reasons unknown.

Axel merely stares at the girl for a while before nodding his head. "Noted. Alright I'm not going to waste any more time and get right down to it... We know what happened here is devastating. Someone close to us-" His eyes lingered on Lightning for a few seconds "-lost something precious to her, and a lot more from what I gather. However, we can't stray from our main objective of this week which is; to beat the jocks. So I'm going to introduce to you our new mem-"

"Hold on just a second..." I suddenly spoke up, looking at the boy in disbelief.

"What's wrong?" Axel frowned, looking at me as though I had just interrupted a very important speech.

"_What's wrong? _Are you seriously asking me that Axel?" I stared at him as he still appears genuinely confused.

"Enlighten me please." Axel bowed mockingly, and I could finally see that he really had no clue at all about his lack of tack.

"Okay, uh, how about this? _Our friend's parents just died_. FYI she and her sister also happen to be homeless right now and you're talking about school activities?" I huffed as I crossed my arms, the realization dawning on his face. Before he could retort however, Lightning was the one who spoke.

"I understand where you're getting at Aqua, but you don't have to worry about my feelings. I know when not to mix work and...P-personal matters." She said in a soft voice, which shocked almost everyone save Axel and Fang.

She was definitely lying through her teeth. The way her eyes shifted and her voice quivered did not fool anyone in the room, not even herself.

"Since the owner of the body you speak of has spoken and given her permission, can I continue?" Axel raised his eyebrows again and directed the question at me. I merely grunted and looked away, clearly displeased with his behaviour.

"Right. Anyway you guys know that the Bullwings-"

"_Gullwings._" We corrected.

"Right. Whatever. Those three chicks and Leon had joined our ranks, well Leon's just joining in for this one fight, and let's not forget our big, burly bear Snow. This means we've gotten five people out of six. I just phoned in a last minute help from someone we all know who's got a beef with her own kind." Axel said monotonously.

"Wait, when you said _her own kind_, do you mean..." Fang raised her hand, a puzzled look on her face.

Axel nodded towards her unfinished question. "Yup, she's a jock. I also know she's not on good terms with... hell, a lot of our members but just for the moment let's all call a temporary truce okay?" Axel said and looked over his shoulders for a moment. "You heard that right? Try and get along with the rest of the kids! Come in for a second!"

All of us turned to look at the empty doorway. A few seconds later, a familiar figure walked in, dressed in an all-black dress. Eyes widen all around as we stared open-mouthed at the slim blonde. She looked at us haughtily, her eyes narrowing as she caught sight of me and a certain blonde figure, who squeaked and quickly hid behind me. Her pair of antenna-like hairdo swerved left and right as she looked around, her fingers playing with a pocket-knife that seemed to never leave her side.

"Huh? So I have to play house _with these guys_?"

* * *

_Sunday: The Haunted Dormitory (Not haunted now, I think)_

"Tch, why'd I have to babysit you guys today?" The blonde huffed, an annoyed tone laced in her voice as she shook the video game controller violently.

"Can't be helped, Axel said we have to get along. Oh, get that mushroom it's an extra bonus point." Fang said lazily as she pointed at the television screen.

"Oh yeah, got it. Anyway still...Why ain'tcha all up my ass or something? I thought you guys have a vendetta against all jocks or somewhat, huh _bluey_?"

"Stop calling me that Larxene and no, we don't have a vendetta against _all _jocks. I mean, some of them are nice, like Tifa and Tidus..._and Terra_..." I added the last part quietly. "Hey! You just blasted me with your cannon!"

"All's fair in love and games princess. Hehe, at this rate I'm gonna' finish fir- _Hey, that's cheating!_"

"_Snort* _Like I give a damn what a snot-nosed kid whines. Damn straight! First place _woohoo_!" Mr. Jecht roared and slammed the controller down as his character won first place in the game.

"Cheating old man..." Larxene grumbled as she placed second.

"_Gahaha_ if you're feeling sore about it I'm up for another round, brats!" Mr. Jecht said loudly as he patted Larxene's head.

"I'll whoop your ass this time!" Larxene declared as she pressed the 'Start' button and clicked 'New Game'.

"We're playing _again_?" Fang looked at the two incredulously.

"Hell yeah!" The two said in unison as Fang merely shook her head and sighed while selecting her character.

"..." I watched the three as they readied themselves for another round of chaotic, destructive, and mindless race. "Well...this seems to go along very well..." I mumbled to myself as I selected a cute, pink princess as my character.

* * *

_Some hours later_

"_Gahaha_, challenge me after you train another ten years lil' missy!" Mr. Jecht skipped happily as he made his way out of the dorm.

"Come back here you cheating, conniving-!"

"Give it up Larxene he'll just do another sneak attack on you like always." Fang sighed as she rubbed her eyes.

"...I still think I can win though." Larxene grumbled as she made her way to the loveseat and propped herself on it.

"Well that was fun." I smiled and stretched my arms up. Although I ended up losing the game every time, it was indeed fun to watch as Mr. Jecht waited sneakily in the bush to ambush Larxene and steal her bonus points, and Larxene cursing as Mr. Jecht laughed all the way to the finish line with a new high score..._every round_.

It was only after I finished clearing the game console away did I notice that Larxene had been staring at me the whole time. Her eyes did not leave me as I walked all the way to the couch and pretended to read a magazine, not willing to show her how nervous I was from her unwavering gaze. After a few minutes of continued staring, I finally caved in.

"W-What?" I put down the magazine and frowned unsurely at the blonde.

"Nothing. It's just that...I can't believe that the four-eyed freak and the school's rebellion princess are of the same nut. You got me fooled real _good _and I still don't believe it." Larxene stated as Fang chuckled at her words.

"What made you believe then? That this awkward girl sitting in front of you is the rock goddess herself?" Fang asked as she sat next to me.

"Axel. The idiot won't make up a wild story like this and I guess in a way I trust every crap that comes out of his smoking mouth." Larxene snorted as she mentioned Axel's name.

"How come you trust Axel? Uh, scratch that, how'd you _know _him anyway?" I asked, suddenly interested.

Larxene scoffed and grinned evilly all of a sudden, as if remembering some fond memories. "He didn't tell? He and I go _waaayyy _back to his rebellious, hormones-filled days. In fact, I was his first." She said proudly.

"His first what?" I asked, tilting my head slightly as I did not catch what she had just said.

Larxene looked at me incredulously. "How innocent can you get? _His first_. You know? In bed? Se-"

"_Oookkkaaayyy _ I think she gets it _Larly_." Fang waved her arms wildly as she gave an alarmed look.

"I thought I told you not to call me that." She glared at Fang. "And anyway, I think you get the picture." She said with finality in her tone and walked out of the dorm.

I was still sitting down however, realization dawning on me as I replayed her words over and over again in my mind. _His first. So does that mean he's already...a man? I mean, I heard that kids lose their virginity young these days but seriously? Axel? What am I feeling here anyway? I don't need to get angry do I? Why am I angry in the first place? This is weird..._

"Sweetie?" Fang said softly as she placed her hand gently on my cheeks.

I suddenly stood up. "I-I need to get some fresh air!" I declared suddenly and ran off, leaving a worried Fang behind.

_Maybe this weekend just got weirder and weirder..._

* * *

A moment to collect some fresh air turned into a walk into town, where I dragged myself around the outskirts of the town, trying to forget what Larxene had said.

_It didn't bug me. It shouldn't be, I mean, we're not even a couple so why should I care?_

However, another voice popped up into my head, a low, seductive voice that purred with passion.

_But you DO care. The boy confessed to you didn't he? That he liked you, and you liked him back-_

_Nope. _Sweet and simple denial.

_Now don't give me that, after all, I am a part of you~ Well, the kinky part anyway hee~_

_I don't even know if I have that kind of part anywhere in my body..._

_We're getting off topic here. Anyway as the lil' devil of your conscious I say you're jealous and that's that._

_ME. JEALOUS. HAH. That's a laugh! Why should I be jealous if Axel's going all over town making other little Axels-_

The thought made me even more disgruntled. Just how many more girls did he sleep with before? If Larxene was his first, there's bound to be more after that. No offence, but it is LARXENE we're talking about here.

_Trust me~ You should hook that boy before someone else gets him~ Say, like, that certain strawberry-head girl you saw holding hands with him yesterday~_

"I don't care who he's with anymore." I said quietly to myself, stopping in my track.

Before I knew it, my feet had brought me to the beach yet again. A strange, calming sensation washed over me as I stood on the sands, taking my sandals off as I breathed in the salty air. The ocean soothed my soul strangely, and I felt like I had said that line before but somehow...the ocean...it's calling for me...

I didn't think. I didn't _stop _to think. Without as much as a warning or thought I just started to sing. I felt like I needed to. Badly. All my emotions were put into this makeshift tune, of what transpired all this while in that screwed up school, of what had happened these past few days, of the men in my life...

It was a sad tune, melancholic. The stress that had built up inside of me just vanished, and so was the sadness. There were no lyrics, merely sound that came out of my mouth as continued the sad song. _My song_.

And the tears fell yet again.

...After a few minutes I finally ended the song. My heart was dampened by the moody song but I felt good. I felt released, free.

"At least I got the funk out of my system." I smiled to myself as the tears dried.

Suddenly an applause broke out in the before silent beach. I yelped and looked around in surprise as I noticed that there were a lot of people crowding me, clapping their hands.

_Tourists? I've never seen them before..._

One of them came to the front, still clapping his hand. "Wonderful! Magnificent! A first class concert could not hold a candle to your voice lass! Truly amazing!" The gentleman, dressed in a simple Hawaiian shirt, smiled as he wiped the tears at the corner of his eyes.

"Oh...thank you..." I said, slightly embarrassed that I had done something unusual in front of this crowd.

"Please, if you are ever in the area of Lindbulm, don't hesitate to call for Cid! I'll make sure to reserve a room for you in the palace anytime of the year!" He said, still smiling.

"Cid...as in Regent Cid, the ruler of Lindbulm and uncle to Garnet?" I asked as I looked at him curiously.

"Yes! Oh so you know my niece! You must be from Destiny High then goodness gracious me! Well I'm on a holiday here with my fellow countrymen and we thank you, dear lass, for giving us the greatest show we might have the luck to be the audience of in our lifetime!" He thanked me again and soon the crowd dispersed, chatting animatedly about 'souvenirs' now.

I stood there for a whole minute, looking at the empty spot they had just been standing at.

"...What the heck just happened?"

* * *

_Axel_

* * *

_Everything's in order now_. I stared at the chart in front of me, taking all information possible on all the participating captains for tomorrow. The starting line-up (courtesy of Larxene) had been presented earlier yesterday and I knew, I knew that with this piece of information we might just have leverage over the jocks.

I clucked my tongue impatiently as I looked at the data of the players. Each of them were of above average stats, be it in strength, speed or intelligence and that includes Vanitas, which was saying something. _It took me the whole night but I finally found a way to fight...a slim chance but nonetheless there's that glimmer of hope that what Aqua is fighting for might come true._

"Mmm..."

I looked over my shoulder to see the strawberry-haired girl snoozing peacefully on my bed. Her chest rising up and down slowly under the blanket, her face showed tranquillity that betrays her inner chaos. I rubbed my forehead and cursed myself inwardly.

_Crap, I totally took advantage of her. Damn, damn, damn, getting drunk on top of all things we were damn lucky we didn't cross the line! _

Last night was a total disaster. The girl did not want to leave and totally raided my beer stock. I knew she was feeling depressed and just wanted some company but..._why did I have to drink too? Oh yeah, because I'm a nut... _A couple of bottles later they were all onto each other and were making out on the sofa. _Dude, what happened to your undying love to Aqua? One day you confessed to her and the next you're making out with a chick who just lost her parents! _

"Let's just hope she doesn't remember what happened last night..." I sighed again, thinking that a pick-me-up right around now should be good. "And _wowzers _can this girl bite..." I mumbled as I picked up my shirt and wore my jeans as quietly as I could, not wanting to wake her up (even though it's already evening...how long were we out?).

* * *

_Terra_

* * *

Just a few hours left. In what seems like an eternity had gone down to a single digit of mere hours as I can no longer delay the inevitable.

_In just a few hours I am going to fight Aqua. _

There is no sense of sportsmanship or fair play in the fight, of that I can be assured of since Xemnas had taken in his stride to prepare the final battle ground. A duel between the two leaders, gladiator style (although I could be exaggerating this).

The night was quiet and dawn hastens to arrive. Sitting in my room alone I held back the nauseating feeling that was growing in my stomach. I stared at the jersey Xemnas had so willingly made for us and the image of Aqua comes into mind.

"_T-That doesn't mean I like you or anything!"_

_"I waited...From morning until night and repeated the sequence every day...every day for two weeks...That's when it hit me that he's not coming back..."_

"_Um...Thanks...For being my date for today..." _

"_Terra...Terra..."_

I shut off those memories as quickly as they came.

"I can't do it...I just can't..." I mumbled to myself painfully, clenching my fists tightly that my nails dug into my skin.

_I can't hurt Aqua. It doesn't matter if she's an outcast, it doesn't matter if she hates me for being a jock, and it doesn't matter if the whole athletics department ostracize me after this; I like Aqua too much to even lay a finger on her..._

"Real smooth Terra... fall in love with the girl who'd risk your chances of getting a scholarship to a decent college why don'tcha?" I mumbled to myself.

_Wait...did I just say love? _Even I was surprised by that statement. _'Love' is such a big word, even I know that but...did I really just admit the fact that I love Aqua? True, the girl had caught my eyes since the concert but...is it really strong enough to be called love?_

I groaned and lay down on my bed. "This is getting ridiculous..." I unconsciously pinched the bridge of my nose. _So let's take it that I __**might **__be in love with Aqua...but what if she likes someone else? Or worse, love someone else...let's say, Axel? That guy's stolen her first kiss after all. Aren't there movies about how the douchebag that stole the heroine's first kiss usually gets the girl? And then there was this Zack guy..._

Suddenly the Sports Festival came back into mind. I frowned as I recounted the meeting we (the Captains) had with that brunette.

_He was cheerful, he was upbeat. The first thing he did was challenge me to a duel. Weird guy, really. Although I still beat him in the end he kept on standing up, almost to a point of obsession to win. We had used the wooden swords of the Kendo club but I had the feeling he was holding himself back. He didn't mention Aqua of course but when he saw her picture in the file...his eyes were the exact same kind that Aqua made when she talks about Zack..._

"Ah damn it all! What the heck am I supposed to do?" Terra yelled out loud, not caring if his parents or the neighbours would complain.

* * *

_Aqua_

* * *

My suspicions were confirmed. They are _definitely _going out.

Morning came and the club members (plus Larxene) huddled together inside the clubroom. There was no need for me to explain the amount of intensity growing inside as all were silent and Ven looked like he was about to puke. We wore the standard gym clothes that the school had provided (not really awe-inspiring or anything but at least it's free!) and my eyes trailed towards the new couple.

Lightning and Axel were _together_. I glumly watched as the pink-haired girl wrapped her fingers around his and quickly turned away as Axel turned his head towards this direction. _Well, now's not the time to think about this thing anyway..._

_White tops and shorts for the girls and white tops and long pants for the guys. Yup, not really awe-inspiring at all. _I sighed at the pathetic attempt to distract myself. I felt a pat on my back and turned to see Leon. Surprisingly he had a small smile on his face and nodded at me.

"Pre-match anxiety?" He asked quietly, mistaken my distraught expression for fear of the tournament.

"Not really...and hi Squall." I answered him first and greeted him second. Truthfully I think I am one of the few to call him just Squall (besides Rinoa) and he seemed like he didn't mind.

"Don't worry just keep your breathing pattern as normal as possible and don't make any negative thoughts or you're going to feel nauseated." He advised and walked away.

"Think it's too late for that..." I mumbled and followed him.

Axel stood in front of the board, eyes scanning the room and nodded in a satisfied manner.

"Good, we're all here." He nodded again and took out a piece of paper from his bag. "Alright guys here's the Main Event list for the Festival..." Weirdly enough his eyes lingered on me for a few seconds before he turned to face the board and wrote the information down.

_President – Aqua_

_Vice-President – Axel_

_Treasurer – Cloud_

_Secretary – Lightning_

_General Affairs Manager – Ventus_

I read the information and silently agreed on the selection. We were not allowed to use outsiders as our main team and other than Ven, I believe the other three can score a victory each (I count myself as a loss from the get-go). I looked at the younger boy next to me and he was silently mouthing a prayer and looked like he was going to puke again.

"Well we don't have much to go on who they're going to pick for which position but I got a general idea thanks to Larxene." Axel stated as he turned to face us. "Five of the Captains would be playing in the single events of course and y'all can bet Mr. Popularity and our old pal Vanitas have their own shiny headlines today." He made that remark without any sarcasm in his tone (A first for Axel though).

I let myself daydream for a moment as to how Terra would look in tight, white shirt..._Whoa... He'd look even dreamier if the shirt is NOT on... _I turned a bright shade of red and could have sworn that steams were coming off my head as Ven looked at me worriedly.

I didn't notice that Axel was already standing directly in front of me. The redhead was so close that I could smell the cologne. I let myself drift off again as I close my eyes and imagined Axel shirtless..._nah_, I've seen that hundreds of times already! Imagining Terra's hard-rock abs is even better!

"...Alright guys, this is it. The chance we've all been waiting for." Axel said as he looked around again. "For the ones that have suffered for so long, who have been prejudiced because of our lack of physical talent, our stature, our place amongst the normal students and because of who _we are_. This just might be some _for fun play _to the jocks but it's also our chance to give em' what they deserve. Ah what the hell am I saying here? Let's sock it to em' all!"

The room chorused with cheers as we set our mind on the goal; _to prove that we are also human, just like the rest of the school._

"Let's do this." I nodded my head as the gang began piling out of the clubroom. I made to follow suit but I felt someone tugging at my shirt. I turned to see the redhead still rooted to the spot, emerald eyes watching me with an unfamiliar feeling. I felt a mixture of giddiness and anxiousness as I looked downwards on the ground, unable to look Axel in the eyes anymore without making my face look like a tomato.

We stood there quietly as some gave us a questioning look. Naminé seemed like she wanted to talk to me but Fang tactfully placed a hand on her shoulder and led her away, whispering "_They need to sort some things out._ _ADULT things_."

I fought hard not to roll my eyes at that comment. Soon after we were the only ones left in the room. I started to get even more nervous and grabbed the hem of my shirt for some sort of mental support.

"So..." Axel began, breaking the heavy silence between us.

"So..." I repeated, still not looking at him.

"Um, do your best out there. Try not to do anything stupid that'll get you hurt okay?" Axel said with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"I do NOT do stupid things, that's your job!" I replied hotly and looked up to frown at the boy.

Axel suddenly chuckled and ruffled my hair. "Good, you're finally looking up. Thought you were in love with the floor or something."

"Ah..." I mumbled, a small blush creeping up my face as the boy realized the word he had just used.

"Oh..." Axel said sheepishly, ruffling his own hair this time.

Silence befell us once again but the air was lighter this time, inviting even. I fidgeted and looked at the boy once more, finally getting rid of the silly notion I had earlier that made us awkward against one another.

"Y'know, we don't have to be like this." I finally said, mustering the courage to look him in the eyes. The boy wore a confused look as I steadied my breathing pattern, readying myself for the big reel.

"...Like what?" I _know _he's feigning this time!

"This! Y'know... How I can't even look you in the face anymore because I'll be scared that you'll kiss me right out of the blue!" I huffed.

"You mean like this?"

Axel suddenly brought his face forward and planted his lips on mine. My train of thought was lost for a few seconds as I tasted what possibly could be the taste of cigarette smoke and berry-flavoured lip balm. My first thought was to push him away but the hand wrapped fiercely behind my back told me otherwise. I mentally rolled my eyes as I dropped my shoulders in a defeated manner and erased any attempts to wriggle out.

Sensing that I had resigned myself, Axel slowly nibbled my bottom lip which caused me to gasp. Immediately he pried open my mouth with his tongue, which explored me without wasting any time. His tongue coiled and wrapped around my own, flicking it up and down playfully like a snake. I tried my best not moan from how much pleasure that little stunt made me feel..._yeah, not really working..._

Without realizing it I began kissing him back. I don't know why but this time this kiss was more...gentle than the last one, more inviting in fact that I didn't mind him planting a deeper kiss on my chin, neck and collarbone. My mind was getting frazzled and I am about to lose it. _Kingdom Hearts can this boy kiss! _I'm pretty sure the room was echoing with lewd noises right now but I couldn't be bothered by it.

Finally able to regain some of my senses back, I gently pulled away from Axel. The redhead was reluctant at first but one look from me finally stopped him. He lets go of my back and I began smoothing my hair back into place and clumsily wiped the traces of Axel's saliva (_eww..._) from my face and neck.

"...You really are insensitive you know that?" I mumbled moodily, blushing slightly at the sexy smirk he was giving me.

"Oh don't tell me you didn't _enjoy _Axel's magic just now baby." He wiggled his eyebrows, successfully getting a giggle from me.

"Really now Axel? _Axel's magic_? And since when did you ever call me baby and FYI I am forbidding you from ever calling me that again. You sounded like a dirty old man." I place my hands on my waist as the boy merely chuckled and pulled me into a hug. I let him place a small kiss on my forehead and I lightly placed my hands on his chest. "...So, had enough yet or do we need to lock the doors?" I teased the boy as he raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Well now that you mention it..." He gave me that devilish, sexy smirk again as I rolled my eyes.

"I was being sarcastic and don't forget we have a Sports Festival to get to..._Oh my gosh we have a Sports Festival! What the heck are we doing?" _ I began to panic as I remembered what we were supposed to do.

"Look _chillax _alright? The thing ain't gonna start for about another hour or so, I just sent the gang there early to adjust themselves to the environment." Axel said calmly as he patted my head soothingly.

"Oh, I see..." I mumbled as I calmed down but I can't get rid of that anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach. "Hmm, somehow I don't think you send them down there _just _to adjust themselves though." I frowned playfully at the redhead.

"Guilty as charged, I wanted an opportunity to talk to you. _Alone_, if possible." Axel raised his hands up as I snorted at the '_talk_' part. "I'm serious here, it's been awhile since we actually talked to each other like this and I missed it..."

"...Axel we just talked two days ago." I shook my head.

"Yeah well that didn't really count as a happy-go-lucky fun talk we used to have...it sounded more like we were trying to bite off each other's head..." Axel sounded sad as he said that, his eyes drooped as he made a pouting look.

"I guess so, you know you sounded like a real heartless bastard then, even if Lightning did give her permission to continue or whatever." I crossed my arms and frowned at him.

The redhead ruffled his spiky hair uncomfortably and I could tell he felt quite bad for playing that part. With a sigh I placed my hands on his cheeks and gently caressed him. His emerald eyes bore into mine as he gave me an '_I am sorry please forgive me_' psychic message with his stare.

"...I'm sorry if I was a lousy kisser." I suddenly said out of the blue. Axel watched me with a shocked expression again and seemed to choose his words carefully.

"No way, that kiss just now was _sexy_. I was wondering if you were really Aqua just now with the way you were eating my tongue inside your mouth." He grinned as I turned a pale shade of red from his comment.

"W-Well I never actually practiced on how to _french kiss _before but Yuffie sometimes sneakily made me watch this videos- _Never mind_." I clamped my mouth shut as Axel gave me an even more evil smile.

"_Oh, so you like watching kinky videos now do you? _My my, my image of you just changed slightly Aqua, hotter even." He made a satisfied look as I practically exploded with embarrassment.

"N-No! I _do not _like watching perverted videos! T-That's what boys would do and I understand because you guys are at that age and- _Axel you better stop giving me that 'oh I understand' look or I'll give you a punch in the face!_" I flustered as Axel chuckled at my excuse.

"Okay, okay! I won't tease you anymore!" Axel chuckled again as I pinched him.

"Hmph, that's what you always do." I harrumphed although I couldn't help but smile at how we were able to finally go back to how we normally talk to each other.

_Good, this is how it should be..._ I thought as the boy continued to look at me in an amused manner.

"...I seriously want to punch you in the face..." I growled as he held his hands up in front of him.

"Hey hey, don't destroy the pretty face here! I beg for mercy o' great Aqua!" Axel said teasingly as he ducked from my failed attempt of a straight punch.

_This isn't so bad...maybe...just maybe... _I looked at him again and caught him giving me the most adorable smile he ever made. _Maybe he can be my salvation_.

"Hey, you know what Axel?" I said, inhaling deeply and readying myself mentally for what comes next.

"Hmm...?" Axel responded as he waited for me.

"I- You know- With you- As a-" _Kingdom Hearts why is it so hard to say it?_

"Yes? Aqua I can't understand you if you're speaking gibberish-tongue with me."

"I-I-You-" _Okay here it goes! _"Let's go_ooooo_-" I stopped myself from saying it as I noticed a purple mark on his neck. My mind focused on it as I tried to think what it is. Of course I know what a purple mark on a neck means. It's a hickey. _But when did I give him that? On second thought I didn't even kiss him on the neck or anywhere near that part and that looks fresh..._ My eyes grew wide with horror as I realized what it means. _Oh no this boy couldn't have-_

"Axel..." I said quietly, lowering my head and hiding my eyes behind my bangs.

"Yes Aqua?" Axel sighed, a smile still plastered on his face.

"Who were you with last night?" I asked quietly, an icy tone laced within my voice.

I looked upwards to see the boy had dropped his smile, replaced with a look of surprise and his hand immediately went up to cover his neck.

"W-What?" He mumbled as he took a step back.

"I said_...Who the hell did you made out with last night?_" I couldn't control my anger as I pushed him as far away as possible. It didn't take me long to know who that other girl is of course, or am I simply forgetting that earlier his hands were holding a certain strawberry-haired girl close to him?

"A-Aqua." Axel was still looking at me as if he had just been caught red-handed stealing something.

"I-I can't believe you! You were French-kissing another girl last night _and _doing the same thing to me _now_? W-What is this? I can't understand this at all!" I covered my mouth as I fought hard, and still failed, to suppress my tears.

"L-Look, just listen okay!" Axel said hastily but I shook my head violently.

"W-Were you just toying with me? Playing around with my feelings? A-Am I just some spare tyre you'd use when your girl is away or something? Oh _damn it _Axel I feel like such a _whore_!" I sobbed uncontrollably as it dawned on me that Axel was just using me to satisfy his lust. I was ashamed and felt dirty, tainted.

"No it's not like that! Aqua I love-"

"_Save it_. Don't say that word Axel, please don't say it." I covered my ears and shook my head violently as the tears streamed down like waterfall.

"Aqua just listen!" Axel protested.

"_Axel please...you're breaking my heart_..." I squeaked, not having enough strength to speak as I hiccupped and began crying.

_Why...W-Why is this happening to me? Am I really cursed? Unable to be loved by a man at all? Why..._

I didn't give Axel the chance to speak as I turned and slammed the door open, running away as fast as possible...as far away from Axel... On my way out I bumped into someone but I didn't even see or apologize to whomever that was as I covered my face in shame and ran away.

_I can't take this anymore... I-I just can't! _

* * *

_Axel_

* * *

I stood there, frozen like a statue as the girl I love ran away, tears on her red face and sobbing non-stop.

_What. The. F. Did. I. Just. Do._

I didn't have time to process out what I should do as I felt someone grabbed me by the collars and threw me onto the floor.

"_You stupid idiot! Conniving bastard! Heartless jerk! Spawn of Satan! ShinRa scum! How could you?_"

I looked up to see a very angry...no, _furious_ Yuffie and Fang and a sobbing Naminé. _What were they doing here? Wait...did they just hear everything...?_

"We saw _everything_!" Oh that explains it...

Yuffie was crying herself, face contorted in anger and shaking violently. Fang was merely looking at me disdainfully and shaking her head while Naminé was hugging her and burying her face on Fang's back. The three women must have secretly stayed behind to watch what we were up to and I'll bet the rest of my existence's luck that the end result was not what they had in mind.

"How could you break my cousin's heart like that Axel? And before the big game? It's not even about the game _ugh _it's about everything!" Yuffie pulled a fistful of her hair out in frustration as she went on a rampage around the classroom and kicked the desks and chairs as she yelled out.

I just sat there watching as Yuffie threw a fit. What was I supposed to do? I don't know, I can't think anymore...The image of Aqua's crying face comes back in full force and I covered my face in frustration.

"Damn it..." I gritted my teeth and hit my face several times for my stupidity.

"Regretting it now won't do much good mate..." Fang said quietly as she kneeled in front of me. "I can't even look you in the face anymore...You just disgust me I'm sorry but you know what you gotta' do now right?"

I raised my head to look at the raven-haired girl as she looked away, not wanting to look me in the eyes.

"Find Aqua and apologize. Right now. If she disappears now we gotta' forfeit the festival and it'll be _all your fault_. Like Yuffie said it's not just about the game but as a human being you're failing very miserably Axel." Fang sighed as she ruffled her hair in an impatient manner. "We're gonna' have a talk about this later you and I. Go now and I'll try to calm these two down." She motioned towards the door.

I merely nodded my head and immediately stood up and bolted. I didn't have a plan in mind but I gotta' find Aqua, I gotta' apologize...make her see that I'm telling the truth that I love her.

I gritted my teeth in anger again as I ran across the hallway.

"Why the hell am I such a douchebag?"

* * *

_Aqua_

* * *

I hugged my legs as I sobbed and thought back on what had just happened. Axel had betrayed me. _Again_. This time it was ten times worse. _I can't believe I deluded myself to believe that I had a chance with him... _Fresh tears spilled out as I rocked back and forth in the tiny storage room. Yes, I hid myself in the janitor's cleaning supplies storage room.

I buried my face in my legs, trying hard to stop these senseless tears. I had never felt so ashamed of myself for letting a guy treat me like that. My cell-phone beeped for the umpteenth time but I ignored it, finally switching it off and threw it aside.

Suddenly, the door swung open. I flinched and looked upwards, the source of light stinging my eyes as I held my hand out to shield myself.

"_Aqua...?_"

Through my fingers I saw a familiar, welcoming presence I had longed to see for so long. _Could it be...? _The familiar spiky hair...the familiar gentle tone...the familiar strong arms... I can't believe it as I rubbed my eyes and stare at the black-haired boy standing in front of me.

"...Zack..."

The spiky-haired boy grinned, the same old grin he used to make, and held out his hand. "Been awhile hasn't it? _How about a date?_"


End file.
